Chronicles of Symphonia
by Frozen In Flight
Summary: Well, this time, Mithos biffed it. Tethe'alla landed in 'Weyard' Golden Sun , with F.E. countries there too. Of course, not everyone is going to stay on that side. An Role Play with Blaze0010 -Leon-, Under Construction Constantly. Restarted. M incase.
1. Sky Lights

Sorry for killing everyone.. D: but we had some character rehab, or what ever, and then i lost part of hte sotry, and Leon didn't get on the internet, and hten we just descided...

screw it, lets start over.

soooo...

we did.

Frozen = Lloyd, Colette, Genis, Phaidra, Kratos, Raine, Random Desians, Random Gaurds, and just about everyone elese who's names are not Piers.

Leon controls Piers :3

Oh, and everyone on Sylvarant who is in tune with Mana or has an Exsphere or Cruxis crystal can see the Psynergy Aura. According to Leon... which means... just about everyone in the tales crew.

Eventually, Aurian makes an apearence.

I own no one in this chapter. But my soul. but that doesn't make an apearence.

If the words look suspiciously like the game text, thats because i found a wonderfull web-page that had the game 'script' with the different options.... and i'm a lazy bastard. sooo..

i really own just about nothing. D:

* * *

August 28th

* * *

Raine turns to the back, and asks the boy standing there a question. there isn't an answer. "... Lloyd Irving, wake up! Lloyd!" Lloyd snores in reply, standing up in the back of the room holding two buckets. Raine's temper flares, and she throws a chalk-board eraser at his face. It hits.

"How the hell can he sleep standing up?" Piers looks up.

"Exactly.." Genis mutters, as Lloyd wakes with a cry. Raine voices the same thought that Piers had.

"Uh.. Professor Raine. is.. class over?"

Raine sighs. "Fine, i'll have someone else answer the question. Genis, how about you?"

"Yes, Raine." Genis stands, and 'recites' after Raine makes it back to the teacher's desk. "Mithos, the Hero, brought about the end of the Ancient War in the Holy Ground of Kharlan." Piers glances at Lloyd, listening to Genis talk about the war. He sighs, thinking that all war is pointless.

"Correct. Afterwards, Mithos the Hero formed a pact with the Goddess Martel to seal way the Desians whom caused the war." Raine continued.

"But the Desians came back and are now causing everyone to suffer!" Lloyd shouts from the back, still standing there with a white smudge on his face and buckets in his hands.

"We covered that in class last time, remember? when the Seal weakens, the Desians reappear. Just like now." Raine sighs at Lloyd.

"This is why I hate war. It always comes back to haunt the next generation." Piers mutters.

"I…I knew that. I…I just forgot.." Lloyd mutters, and Raine sighs again. Maybe her white hair came not from being an elf, but because of Lloyd...

"Today is the Day of Prophecy. It is a very important day, which the Chosen of Mana will receive an oracle from the Goddess Martel. Now, Chosen One…Colette." A blonde girl in white stands.

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Tell us about the Journey of World Regeneration." Raine says. Piers knew about the journey, but he listens to Colette anyway.

"It is a journey to seal the Desians. Upon passing the trials of the Goddess Martel, the Summon Spirits that protect the world awaken, and Mana is restored." Colette says. Lloyd starts dozing again.

"Correct. I suppose we should expect the Chosen herself to know the answer to that one. Mana depletion is the cause of the current food shortages and droughts." Raine says. Lloyd twitches in his nap. Piers glances back at Lloyd. He nudges Genis, whom he was sitting behind.

"Should we tell Raine?" He jerks his thumb at Lloyd.

"It is said that this occurs because the Desians consume vast amounts of Mana in their human ranches." Lloyd wakes before Genis can reply, and Raine stops talking. Lloyd meets eyes with Colette as she sits back down. "The Chosen's journey has two purposes—to revive Mana as well as defeat the Desians. Now, for the next question—" A bright light flashes through the classroom from the window.

Piers flinches from the light. "Wh-What was that?!" Lloyd echoes this, just as startled, but much more curious.

"Thats..." Colette whispers, hands clasped before her chest, almost a praying gesture.

"Settle down, everyone. It would seem that the time for the oracle has come. I will go and check on the chapel. Everyone, stay here and study on your own. Understood?" Raine moves for the door.

"Professor! I'll go with you!" Colette turns to go as well. Piers sits back down, casting a glance at Lloyd and then at Genis.

"No, Colette. If it is the oracle, the priests will come here for you. Wait here with everyone else." Raine says, then hurries out.

"Yes Ma'am." Lloyd sets down his buckets, and inches sneakily(in a bright red jacket) for the door, Genis intercepts him, glancing at Piers.

"Lloyd! Where are you going? Don't tell me you're sneaking out! Raine will get mad!" Genis says, jumping a little. Kid's only 12, after all.

Piers gets to his feet. "Yeah. And we'll get into trouble for letting you."

"I'm really curious to find out what really happens to Colette when she receives the oracle. They always talk about the Chosen of Regeneration and the Day of Prophecy, but no one tells us what really happens." Lloyd says, sticking his thumbs into his belt, and eyeing the door.

"But my sister said to stay and study by ourselves." Genis protests.

"It's research." Lloyd says.

"Well, if he puts it that way... We ARE supposed to learn about the journey of regeneration. And she did say by ourselves." Piers says, musingly.

"That's just an excuse!" Genis says, waving his hands in the air.

"So? An excuse is an excuse, right? Don't be so stuffy. You're coming too, right? We're best friends, after all!"Lloyd says, crossing his arms and looking smug." Colette, want to come along, too?" Colette looks over from the La-La land she had been in.

"..Huh? Um, Okay." she walks over. "So, where to?"

"The church, right?" Piers picks up his bag. "Lets go!"

"See?" Lloyd says to Genis. "Dwarven Vow #4: Don't depend on others. Walk on your own two legs. Okay then! Let's go to the temple!" Lloyd punches the air, on the way out.

Genis raises his hands in annoyed defeat. "Not the Dwarven Vows again. You always use them when you need an excuse..."

Once the quartet gets outside, Lloyd notices something. "Hey.. Its awfully quiet..."

"Colette!" Frank comes up.

Piers looks around. "Uh-oh...My trouble senses are tingling." Genis gives Piers a weird look.

"Father!" Colette cries.

"Frank!" Lloyd says, waving a little.

"Thank goodness you're safe." Frank says, hugging Colette after giving her a visual inspection for blood on her white clothes.

"Frank, what happened to the towns folk?" Genis asks.

"They're all hiding. Desians invaded the village a short while ago. Luckily, no one was hurt. they just passed through and headed to the temple." Frank says, letting go of Colette.

"Bingo..." Piers looks at Lloyd. "Lemme guess. You still wanna go to the temple, huh?" Lloyd nods.

"Why?! Iselia has a non-aggression treaty with the Desians!" Genis protests.

"You mean that agreement where they don't attack the village as long as we leave the human ranch alone?" Lloyd asks, clarifying.

"Yes…Grandmother said it's to protect me… Oh! Where's Grandmother?" Colette looks worried.

"Didn't they already violate the treaty by attacking the village or the temple?" Piers points out.

"They didn't attack the village.. and i'm not sure if the temple ispart of the treaty." Genis muses, thinking.

"It is.. and Phaidra is there preparing for the ritual."

"Phaidra's in the temple? but that's where the Desians.." Lloyd stares, thinking.

"The priests are there with her. There's no need to worry. Now, Colette.." Frank puts a hand on the girls shoulder.

"If the temple is part of the village, then they violated the treaty. Ergo, we're entitled to send men to the temple to at least check it out. Does Iselia have any guards?"

"A militia..." Genis says, a tad ruefully.

"I know. I promise to fulfill my duty as the Chosen." Colette says, her ever-ready smile faltering for a fraction.

"Good luck, Colette." he turns to the three boys. "Lloyd, Genis, Piers, you should go home."

"I'm worried about letting Colette go by herself." Lloyd casually rests his hand on a sword hilt, one of two wooden blades. "I'll go with her to the temple."

"If Lloyd goes, I'll go. He'll end up getting a splinter." Lloyd makes a face at Piers, indicating his gloves, although the left is split by a bandage-like wrap.

"Me too." Genis says, smothering a grin poorly.

"But... alright.." Frank gives up without much of a try, dropping his hand from Colette's shoulder. "Thank you. I'll wait at the house. comeback immediately if anything happens." then he leaves to the Brunel house.

Piers smirks. "Gloves mean nothing. C'mon. We're wasting time!"

Lloyd scowls for a second. "Splinters! I can't get them if I'm wearing GLOVES!" he rants for a moment. If his rage is short, nearly walking into a zombie-monster is a good distraction. "Whoa! Monster!" Lloyd dodges its shambling attack.

"I thought the northern region was a sanctuary. Why are there..."

"It must be part of the trial. Martel's Trial involves battling monsters."Colette gets chakrams out.

"Can we help? Not that I can do much." Piers asks.

"Yes. Until we get to the Priests. they'll take over."Colette smiles at Piers.

"We don't have time to talk!" Lloyd says, bouncing from foot to foot, he's already got his swords out."Let's get this thing!" Lloyd seems to have a tiny bit of blood-lust.

"Roger!" Genis shouts, pulling out his Kendama. Lloyd charges in, slashing-hacking away. Piers merely stands back, not having a weapon to fight with. They killed the monsters.

"Remember, ghosts are weak against magic, not your swords. so leave them to me." Genis says, as they head past the feebley moving bits of zombie.

"That was amazing, Lloyd!" Colette says, cheerful despite the carnage.

"ah, well.. I owe it to this thing." he touches the wrap around his left hand.

"That's right, the Exsphere." Genis looks at Lloyd's hand, and the bulge in the wrap.

"Exsphere?" _-so that was the energy I sensed from him...-_

"Yeah. It's designed for combat and brings out my maximum strength. Without this thing, I'd be nothing…" Lloyd says, all very modest and such.

"But you're still strong, Lloyd!" Colette cheers,.

"Yeah, at least his sword skills are good." Genis says, bashing his friends academic skills.

"What do you mean, at least?!" Lloyd asks Genis.

"Face it, Lloyd, that zombie has more brains than you. Now hurry up! Time's a'wastin'!" Piers had a knack for distracting attention from his comments. They hurry out, Lloyd chasing Piers.

The temple is a domed building in a cliff-face. Lloyd shades his eyes as he looks up at it, streamers flicking in the air from the ocean north. the light still beams up from the dome.

"Whoa, that light really is coming from the temple!" Lloyd says.

"An oracle is going to be conveyed. Colette's going to be the Chosen of Regeneration." Genis sounds awed.

Piers glances back at Colette. "Congratulations. I don't envy you, though. Its too much responsibility...I couldn't handle the fate of this world."

Colette is staring at the light. "It's really, really bright!"

Lloyd and Genis sweatdrop. "Say, Colette…when the oracle is conveyed, you'll become the Chosen who will save the world, right? You're going to be like the hero, Mithos! So maybe you should act a little more…you know, Chosen-like…"

Piers rolls his eyes. "She can't act any different than she is. Its like asking Lloyd to be a woman." Lloyd twitches, and Genis and Colette laugh, although Colette is laughing for his comment.

"Yeah! No problem. No problem."Colette smiles.

Genis notices soemthing off. "Hey... there's a lot of commotion at the temple.."

"I thought so..." Piers sighs. A priest walks down the stairs, staggering and clutching his side.

"Chosen one!" he gasps out, and collapses down the last few stairs.

"Pastor?!" Colette cries, and moves to kneel next to him. the man had landed on his face, and so Lloyd helped the girl turn the man over.

"Hey, are you alright?!" Lloyd asks the standard question. Genis stares at the growing blood stains.

Piers steps back, feeling a bit queasy. "Ugh... I hate blood..."

"The Desians broke the non-aggression treaty and attacked the temple… Chosen One…quickly…the oracle…" The pastor confirms what Frank had said.

"I know." Colette says.

"Please…be careful… I regret that I will not…be able to pro…tect… the…Cho…sen." His breath coming bubbling, the pastor dies.

"Pastor, hang on!" Colette hold the man's hand.

"It's no good. he's.. gone." Lloyd says softly.

"C'mon. Lets not let him die in vain. You three can fight, right? You gotta do something... I'm useless, though..." Piers mutters.

"Sidelines." Genis mutters. "You can chuck Gels to us if we need them. Here." he passes over a handful of apple gels, and a pair of orange. Lloyd and Colette nod and hand over more Apple gels.

"Let's get going." Lloyd says, after moving the pastor to the side of the walk way.

Piers tucks them into his bag so he can reach them fast and easier. "Let's go." Piers agrees. The party races up the stairs, Genis lagging behind his older, and taller friends. A man in a robe, quite unlike the preist-robes, steps before a party of Desians. priests lie on the ground, bleeding and those already bleed out. Phaidra backs to the door.

"Where is the Chosen?" the man asks. the teens reach the top of the stairs.

"Run, Colette!" Phaidra shouts. Piers freezes, gagging, nearly throwing up at the sight and smell of the blood. a Desian points at Colette.

"Lord Botta! There she is!" the Desian cries.

This Botta turns around. "Chosen One, your life is mine!"

Lloyd draws a sword, stepping in front of Colette. "I won't let you Desians get away with anything!"

"Desians?" that first soldier laughs.

"What's so funny?!" Genis shouts, all child-rage, holding his Kendama in a tight fist.

"Well then." Another Desian joins the first. Piers remains behind the others, waiting. "Die at the hands of the Desians you so hate. Get them!" the party of Desians rushes in. Lloyd swears, something Raine would have clocked him for even muttering, drawing his other sword, and the battle played out. Botta stood back, watching. Genis cast Fire ball after Fire ball, Colette using her rings to keep Desians back. One sneaks around the fence, and jumps for Piers. Piers catches his movement in the corner of his eye. He sweeps his arm across the direction he was coming. Diamond-like shards of ice appear and stop the Desian in his tracks. The ice then explodes, knocking him into the wall. During this, Piers acquires a blue aura. Genis gapes after fire-balling one of the remaining Desians into a crisp, and Lloyd beats one to unconsciousness just a bit over.

"Whoa!" Genis says. A large man comes out of the Temple, wearing a horned helm, and a sword across his back. at his side is a hammer, and in his hands are a ball-chain weapon.. easily Genis's size.

"Do not get in our way.." he rumbles, as his comrades flee. Piers steps forward, aiming to distract him, casting Frost on the large Desian, attempting to freeze his boots to the ground. Lloyd looks at the ice, then at Genis, and Piers.

"Wow, Piers, I didn't know you were a mage!" Lloyd calls, before darting in to attack the much larger man. Genis grinned, and Colette smiled, although she looked a tad worried. Piers keeps trying to restrict his movements, with little success.

"Damn! Its been too long." He mutters, gritting his teeth. Vidarr takes his hammer, and crushes the ice, before slamming it into the ground in front of Lloyd. Lloyd blocks the majority of the rocks thrown up in his face, but the shockwave sent him stumbling back. Colette misses blocking a flying rock, and lands on her rump, and Genis gets peppered with them, sending his small body flying back toward Piers.

Piers yelps, getting knocked back by Genis. "Ow... You okay, Genis?"

Genis groggily rubs his head. "I think I need an apple gel..." he mutters, getting off Piers. Lloyd blinks away dust to see that Vidarr is homing in on him, ball ready to smash down.

"Guh..!" Lloyd brings his swords up, and shuts his eyes. A clang wasn't what he expected, nor Vidarr's cry of pain, and a wet cutting noise. Lloyd opens his eyes hesitantly to see a lean man cut Vidarr's arm off. Piers stands, turning to Genis, holding out his hand.

"I may be out of shape, but I can still heal." He closes his eyes. The same pulsing aura appears, this time it feeds energy to Genis.

"Huh...?" Lloyd stares up at the man, who glances back. the guy was wearing purple... "Who are you?" Lloyd asks. _something..familiar.. why the hell would this guy's back be familiar?!_ Lloyd shook his head to clear his thoughts. Cold red-ish eyes survey them, before returning to Lloyd.

"Get out of the way." He says, before returning his attention to taking apart Vidarr. Lloyd bristles.

"What?!"

"This opponent is beyond you. Stay back."

"B-Beyond us?! Just who do you think you're talking to?!" Piers snaps. The man kills Vidarr, and flicks the long-sword he wielded to clean it. a blue gem glints from the back of his other hand, visible over equally purple gloves with knuckle caps in its bronze-like mount, as he turns to face Botta, but glances back at Piers.

".. Children."

"Damn." Botta snarls, almost. "I never thought _you'd_ show up. Retreat for now!" the Desians that can move run with their leader.

"Amazing.." Colette stares.

"This guy's incredibly strong.." Genis mutters.

"Children?!" Piers seems kinda pissed at the comment.

Lloyd seems pissed for other reasons. "Y..yeah. I... I suppose so..." he mutters.

The man looks at the dead priests, paying no more attention to them once he recognized the work of death, then at the teens. "Is everyone all right? ... No one seems to be dangerously wounded..." with the fringe of dark-red hair, the man's eyes seemed to be either orange, or red. Green sparks flicked about his fingers, and he indicated Colette and Lloyd. "First Aid." Green sparks flicker into existence over wounds, and the wounds vanish. The gem on the back of his hand flickers with an inner light, not the green of the healing spell.

Piers grunts, seizing a discarded sword and detaching the sheath from its owner. "If I have to fight, it seems I can't rely on my ..magic anymore."

"Is that.. an Exsphere?" Lloyd asks the air. Phaidra moves over to the teens.

"How can I ever thank you for saving the chosen?" She didn't talk to the teens but the man. His eyes flick back over their group, and rest on Colette. He gives a faint nod-like motion, but turns it into turning back to Phaidra.

"...I see. So this girl is the next chosen." Colette blinks, and stands, dusting herself off

Piers scowls. "If only you knew..." He jabs the sword into its sheath. For a second, the man looked to be smirking, but it was gone so fast it must have been a trick of the eyes. Lloyd too is scowling, but the man is ignoring them both.

"That's right! I have to go accept the oracle! Grandmother, I'm going to undergo the trial now." Colette moves for the Temple.

"What trial?"

"..The monsters, I assume. An malevolent presence radiates from within this chapel." Lloyd mouths the big word of that sentence from the tall man.

Piers scowls. "Violence begets more violence..." He looks at Genis. "Did I heal everything? If my magic is weak, I might have missed something..."

Genis grins at him. "Nope, it's all taken care of."

Phaidra nods at the man's explanation. "Yes, that is correct. The Chosen is to receive judgment from heaven. But the priests that were to accompany her fell at the hands of the Desians..."

"Then I'll take on the job of protecting Colette." Lloyd says.

"Lloyd?" Phaidra asks, and somehow, the man seems to be paying more attention after hearing that. "...I would be uneasy with just you."

"Good..." Piers mutters. The man flicks his attention back to Lloyd.

"...Your name is Lloyd?" there was a hint of something in his voice. Surprise?

"Yeah, but who are you to ask for my name?" Lloyd rests left hand on a sword, shifting his weight to the right foot.

"..I am Kratos, a mercenary." Kratos says. "As long as you can pay me, I'll accept the job of guarding the Chosen."

"...Under the circumstances, I have little choice." Piers glares at Kratos. He could sense...something. Maybe it was just the Exsphere. Like with Lloyd, but... more. Lloyd gapes a tad indignantly as Phaidra continues. "Please be of service."

Although there was no handshake, or exchange of money on the spot, Kratos nodded. "It's a deal, then."

"W-wait! I'm going too!" Lloyd shouts.

"..Lloyd, you'll only get in the way. Be a good boy, and wait here." Kratos's tone was firm.

"...Ow. I can feel Lloyds damaged pride from here." Piers mutters. It was visible how much Lloyd was fuming. Then, he grinned. A faintly evil grin...

"..Go~tcha." he says, dragging out the vowel, grinning, although not the usual full-blown grin. A faintly sneaky grin.. "I'll just follow you on my own."

"You're a stubborn kid.." Kratos says, slightly amused, then turns toward the temple. "Fine, do as you wish."

"I'll do just that." Lloyd says, still with that faintly evil grin. "Let's go, Genis, Piers!"

Piers growls. "I'm not your flunky, Lloyd." He follows anyway.

"But you are one of my best-friends!" Lloyd grins, turning on the full blown happy one.

"Lloyd, I figured you were going to say that." Genis said, falling in behind Lloyd, as he follows Colette, who follows Kratos.

"This isn't a field trip, you know.." Kratos sounds resigned.

"Exactly. Unless we go to a feild." Piers mutters. Kratos gives a resigned sigh. They walk inside a dark room, with a high ceiling, and spread out a bit, Kratos farther to the left than the teens. Both Genis and Lloyd are trying to look at everything at once.

"..So this is what the inside of the temple is like..." Lloyd mutters.

"Colette, you've been in here many times, right?" Genis asks her.

"Yeah, but it seems different than usual."

"I wonder..." He glances at Kratos. _-Does he know? He...I Don't think he's human.-_

"I sense the presence of monsters. Don't let your guard down." Kratos tells them, then goes back to studying the three ways on.

"We can handle a few measly monsters." Lloyd holds his arm up, and rests his other on the bicep. "Let's go."

"Wait." Kratos is closer to their group this time, the movement insanely quiet. "Lloyd... Are your sword techniques self taught?" Piers rests a hand on the hilt of his borrowed sword.

"...I miss Dreamtide..." He sighs, watching Lloyd and Kratos.

"Yeah, that's right." Lloyd says. he looks confused when Kratos reaches back under his split-cape, rather like swallow-tails, and plops a book into Lloyds hands. "What is this thing?" Lloyd's distaste for text is obvious.

"It is a training manual. If you are going to use a sword, then at least learn the basics. " Kratos starts past Lloyd, and says lower. "You want to protect the Chosen, don't you?"

Piers glances at Genis. "You seemed surprised that I was a mage." He comments.

Kratos continues walking, looking at the center path. "Hmph!" Lloyd makes a face. "You think you know so much!"

"Yeah. I thought you were human." Genis says, watching Piers.

"I-I...Don't tell anyone..." Piers lowers his voice and whispers. "I'm half elf. My ears just aren't pointed..."

"Really?" Genis whispers back. "that's s-"

"-Whatcha whispering about?" Lloyd pokes his head into their whisper fest.

"How poorly you did on the last test." Genis says quickly. Kratos returns.

"We cannot continue yet. there is a barrier." He tells them. "We take another path first." Colette immediately points them to the left, and after a little bit of walking, they found some old boxes with items.

"Nice save, Genis. I know how touchy Lloyd is about failing." Genis grins. "Later." Genis mouths, jerking his thumb at the others. Kratos ignores the teens as they break open boxes to find some Gald, and healing items, seemingly studying a light fixed to the wall, and then the cave in ahead.

"Now the right path!" Colette cheers, after they split up the Gald. Piers nods. He refuses the healing items, as he can use Ply. He takes his share of the Gald, however. Which leaves Lloyd, Colette and Genis to divvy up the healing items, although Kratos moves over and picks up a bottle, which seems to keep the light inside.

"..." Kratos hands it to Genis. "You might want to hold onto this." He goes back the wall.

"Huh?" Genis looks at it in the light.

"It is a life bottle." Kratos explains, as they find nothing else. "It will revive those who have fallen..."

Piers smiles. "Those are rare. And expensive. But, knowing Lloyd, we'll be needing it soon."

"Hey!" Lloyd snaps.

"..Recently.." Kratos adds to his previous sentence, a tad darkly. Genis blinks as he gets what Kratos was saying, and moves closer to Colette. It doesn't help that the man unsheathed his blade through a zombie after he said so, and continued to walk on with it out.

"Kratos is...different, no?" Piers comments. He felt a stronger connection with Genis than Lloyd or Colette.

"He's creepy." Genis says, as Lloyd says "He's a jerk."

"He's strong." Colette comments. "And he knows what he's doing."

Piers merely shrugs. "Whatever...I don't trust him..."

"He's a jerk." Lloyd repeats.

"Slime." Kratos tells them.

"What?" Lloyd looks like he's trying to figure out why Kratos insulted himself.

"Behind you." This was accompanied by a sigh as Kratos cut through a spider. Lloyd spins around to spot a slime behind him. Piers casts Frost. A pillar forms under the Slime, spiking it, giving Lloyd a chance. Lloyd cracks the pillar, and kills the slime that had been partially frozen. Lloyd frowns at the slime, and the ice.

"Thanks." he says, turning back to walk with the party, but whether to Kratos(unthinkable!) or Piers, is uncertain. Piers smirks. He keeps a hand on his borrowed sword. When he got back to town, he'd need to get his pirate blade out. Dreamtide was such a handy move. Kratos continues to lead them through the chapel without a pause, and they go down some stairs. in the large room below, a platform was suspended in the air.. by just its stairs.

"Whoa!" Lloyd exclaims his awe at the room.

"Look, look!" Genis beats Kratos down the stairs, and moves for the edge, toward the way they had come, but on that platform. "Something's glowing!"

Piers stops, watching. "The oracle?"

"Wow! Let's go see it!" Lloyd says. Unfortunately, this is the level down, and as the party looks for the path, through the transparent floor of their platform, they notice...

"there's gaps in the path." Genis says with a sigh. "We can't jump those... there's no bottom.."

"Look, something's here!" Colette says, from out of the group. turning, Lloyd and co spot.. a large rock golem. Kratos lunges. Piers casts Cool, drawing the sword, attempting to freeze the golem's feet and legs. Kratos takes use of this to drive his blade in like a wedge between the rocks forming one of the creature's legs, and start taking apart the golem. Colette gets back up from where she had tripped as the golem had come up, and Kratos passed her. Lloyd darts in, not about to be out-done by the older male. Its upper body spins in a complete circle, and Kratos whips out a small shield to catch the blow. Piers jumps up, jabbing his sword into any flaws in the rock, trying to pry the golem apart. Lloyd goes flying back, but twists in mid air and lands, albeit a tad heavily. Kratos is wearing a scowl by now, and he swings his sword back.

"Sonic Thrust." he says, and shanks the Golem. Surprisingly, it even works, and the rings from the speed of the attack chip the rock even more.

"Lloyd! You okay?" Piers looks back at the teen.

"Yep!" Lloyd jumps side to side a tad, testing out his legs. "All good.." he darts forward again, as Genis casts Fire Ball. It just washes over the rock.

"Dammit, i'm useless!" Genis says.

"Demon Fang!" Lloyd says, shooting a triangle of energy from one of his swords in a down-swipe. Kratos side steps it, continuing to hack and slash. It topples off its one leg. And turns into.. a block.

Piers pants. "I'm not much help, either...dammit..." They stop, now that there's a block of rock instead of a golem.

"Wow!" Colette cheers. "It turned into a rock!" She says, looking at the block.

"well... it was kinda a rock to begin with..." Lloyd mutters.

"Oops!" a fatal sound, in any context. Colette trips, and the block of rock fell down one of the block shaped holes in the platform.

"uh..." Lloyd looks through the floor. the block cleared a path below.

Piers sighs, looking at Genis. "Is everyone okay? No-one need healing?" Kratos has a bruise on the side of his face, but he's ignoring it. Lloyd is walking a little stiffly on one foot, and keeps shaking one arm.

"Hey! it fell into one of the holes below!" Genis points. He's untouched, mages being a back-line battler, and Colette hadn't been in the battle.

"My arm tingles." Lloyd admits.

Piers, glad of a chance to prove his worth, casts a Ply spell on Lloyd's arm. "Seems it was sprained..."

Lloyd shivers. "It's cold!" he mutters.

"Oh, no!" Colette, oblivious to the conversation, is saddened by the fall of the block.

"I get it!" Genis says, hitting his hand into his fist.

"I see." Kratos murmurs, looking through the floor.

"What are you two talking about?" Lloyd asks, turning to look.

"In just a moment.." Genis draws it out, turning to look around. Piers sighs, hating to be left out of the loop.

"It'll probably.." Genis points farther down the platform. "See, there it is!" A golem was spawned.

"Whoa! there's another one!" Lloyd jumps back.

"Now, let's take care of it and drop it down below!" Genis says. Lloyd looks confused, but with Kratos moving in to kill the monster, he wasn't about to just stand there. Piers darts forward, starting to hack at the golem's legs. Lloyd uses his Demon Fang several times, and Kratos shows he knows the technique as well, although his was a tad more powerful. Of course, having the man run up behind it to attack in the reeling of the golem probably helped. Piers finally manages to hack through the leg, kicking it out from under the golem. It starts toppling over. Lloyd yelps, and backs up quickly, and Kratos just darts back, a flicker of the healing spell flitting across his shoulder and face. Piers sighs. He looks at the Golem.

"Hurt yourself again?" He asks Lloyd. The golem into a block, and Kratos and Genis already started maneuvering it into a hole so they paths below could be opened.

Lloyd shrugs. "dunno."

"I best heal you anyway...hopeless..." He casts Ply, starting to weaken.

Lloyd blinks. "That.. wasn't as cold as before." he mutters, shifting to peer at Piers. "You need an Orange Gel? I think I have one.."

"It won't work. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

Lloyd frowns. "It helps Genis when he has trouble with spells."

"Lloyd! Another Golem!" Genis shouts, waving for the teen.

"Ah! I'll try not to get myself hurt this time!" Lloyd waves to Piers as he runs to join the rock-'killing'. Piers concentrates the last of his Psynergy to cool the rock, making it brittle and easier to snap. Kratos slams the hilt of the long-sword into the rock-golem, which does cause it to fracture, and neatly steps to the side as Lloyd Combo's in with his blades. When Lloyd couldn't continue his attacks, Kratos stepped in, and surprisingly, they worked well as a team. The Golem turns into a block again.

Piers pants, getting tired quicker. "D-Damn..."

Kratos took care of the healing this time, and Colette comes back from la-la land to help out. They went down side paths, gathered a few more items, Gald and a mélange gel, and then went to the shiny they had seen from before. Genis peers at it, resting on an altar like machine.

"Is this.. the Sorcerers' Ring? I've heard about it before. It's a holy artifact of the Church of Martel." Genis says. Piers stands beside Genis, examining the artifact, too. A small blue-ish ring, with a red something in the center.

"With this, we should be able to deal with most traps and obstacles." Kratos says, nodding at the ring.

"Wow!" Lloyd crows. "Let me try it!"

"Ok Lloyd." Colette plucks the ring up, and passes it to the teen. Piers watches. He has a Psy Crystal in his bag, but daren't use it yet.

".. You're like a little kid." Genis sighs. Lloyd makes a face at the small boy, which doesn't help his 'little kid'-ness, and slips the ring on. Having got everything in this room, they head back to the first room of the chapel, then turning up the center path. Piers follows, feeling all old and useless. In the center hall, a shut door stood behind a glowing blue seal.

"It's Sealed." Kratos explains why they couldn't go this way in the first place.

"The Sorcerer's ring can open it." Colette says.

"Ok! leave it to me!" Lloyd moves to the center, eyeing the red blob on the door, and thrusts his fist out. A small fireball shoots out, and the door opens. "Oh." Lloyd looks at the ring. Piers grips his sword tighter.

"... Is that all the Sorcerers Ring does...?" Lloyd sighs.

Genis shakes his head. "You get bored so easily." Colette glances at Piers.

"Are you ok?" she asks.

"J-Just a bit tired, that's all. Its been a while since I've had to fight."

"Oh.. ok! If you want to take a break, let us know!" she smiles at him, as Kratos moves forward to inspect the glowing blue circle on the floor.

"It's a warp." He steps onto it. "It'll take us to the top floor." He vanishes, his image stretching up for a second. Lloyd scowls, but he and Genis wait for Colette to go first. She waves, and does so, then the boys follow. Piers is last, getting a queasy feeling as he's warped. It's an large alter room, with the domed roof above them, and the strange round altar a circle platform in the center. The beam of light was emitted from it.

"The top floor." Kratos nods at the light, moving back and to the side. Again, the walls are more interesting to the man than whats actually in the room.

"Yes. That's the altar." Colette agrees.

"Then that shining thing there.." Lloyd pointed at a rock on the altar. "must be the Cruxis Crystal." it's blood red..

"Cruxis Crystal?" Piers asks.

"It's what makes a chosen a chosen." Genis explains.

Colette nods. "That's right. They say I was born with that in my hand."

Genis jumps up and down, pointing up. "Look at that light!" A gold spark was floating steadily down.

* * *

So, I've heard that Colettes Official Birthgday is like, December 10th. but I've already plotted out most(up to Kvar's death) of the story line on a calander, starting from the 28th(based on distance travel-able per day, acroding from what I understood, it was like, four, five days from Iselia to Triet, and since the game doesn't five us any kind of idea, so that's what we're going with. :D

yes, I am a geek.

:D more shall come sooon!

Frozen and Leon

even though I'm the one keeping all of this... *grumbles*


	2. Promise of an Angel

I started splitting them up.

My sister mentioned that my 10-15K word chapters are a little intimidating.

so, i'm splitting them up

* * *

Piers shivers suddenly. "I-I...That's a holy light..." the gold light flows out, brightening, and when they can look again, although Kratos is finding one of the walls much more interesting, a winged man, in robes of the priestly sort, floated above them. The white wings flapped, but he barely bobbed.

"Wh-what is that?" Lloyd asks.

"An Angel, I would assume.." Kratos says, glancing, before returning to his study of the very fascinating wall.

"So is that Colette's real father...?" Genis asks softly.

"I Am Remiel." Piers groans, holding his head. -Such...Power!- "I am an Angel of Judgment. I am here to guide Colette, daughter of the Mana Lineage, on her journey to heaven as the Seventh Chosen. " The angel says, in a carrying voice, and he descends a bit, so his shoes are on eye level with Colette. "The time has come to awaken the Goddess Martel, who sleeps at the center of the world." He says, a bit grandly.

"Awaken the Goddess Martel.." Genis breathes. Piers manages to open his eyes, watching. "It's just like the legends Raine told us about." the cruxis crystal floats up, until it was level with Colette's neck, and then to the girl. a flash of light, and the girl twitches, then the gem is in an intricate necklace bout her neck, low on her neck.

"From this moment, Colette becomes the Chosen of Regeneration." Piers just watches, managing to get over the power emitted by Remiel. "We of the Cruxis bless this event, and hereby bestow the Tower of Salvation upon Sylvarant." the angel gestures out the window, and far in the distance, a thin, rather impossible tower appears, reaching high in the clouds. Lloyd rushes over to look, and Genis follows shortly.

"And so it begins." Piers sighs.

"So that's the Tower of Salvation!" Lloyd says, peering at it.

"Now the world will be saved!" Genis says, awed.

"Colette, the Chosen of Regeneration. Unlock the seals that guard the Tower of Salvation and climb its stairs to heaven in distant lands." Remiel says.

"I humbly accept this task." Colette says, solemn.

"Very good." Remiel sounded smug. Piers frowns, feeling the same mistrust as he did for Kratos. "We of the Cruxis shall grant you the power of the Angels with each seal you unlock. Once you are reborn as an Angel, this eroded world shall be regenerated." Remiel sounded faintly distasteful of this 'eroded world' but..

"Thank you. I swear on my life I will regenerate the world." Colette says, still solemn. Was it all ritual words?

"First head south, to the Seal of Fire. Offer your prayers in that distant land."

"Yes, Lord Remiel." Colette says, but then looks a little flustered as Remiel just starts ascending. "Uh, wait! Please wait!" she takes a half step forward. "I have a question I wish to ask of you. Are you really my fa—"

"First head to the Seal of Fire. Understood? My beloved daughter, Colette."

"F...father!...So you really are my true father." Piers' headache starts to leave him as Remiel ascends. "We shall meet again at the next seal, my daughter." Remiel vanishes, leaving a few feathers that vanish.

"So that was an oracle.." Genis sighs. "I wish Raine could have seen him."

"I can't believe Remiel is my father..." Colette murmurs. Lloyd turns away from the window and moves to check on Colette, putting his face near hers and grinning widely. "I'm alright." she smiles back. "I was just a little surprised. That's all."

"oh.." Lloyd rubs the back of his head.

"Piers, are you ok?" Colette asks, looking at the blue-haired boy. "You were feeling tired earlier.."

"Y-yeah...I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

"You've received your oracle." Kratos turned from his inspection of the wall, looking at Colette. "Let us leave now, Chosen." Kratos turns and moves for the warp pad.

"..oh, yes." Colette says, bright and cheerful.

"We're going on ahead." Kratos tells the boys as he warps off.

"Um. Thank you, all three of you. Please stop by my house later." With a wave, Colette follows Kratos.

"Shall we go? This place gives me the creeps..." Piers asks.

"Yeah." Lloyd says, crossing his arms behind his head.

"The rumor was true." Genis muses.

"What rumor?" Lloyd asks.

"Colette is the daughter of an Angel and is not really related to her current father." Genis says.

"Even if you're not related by blood, family is family... At least, that's what I think." Lloyd says.

"Ah.. I'm sorry." Genis says. "I forgot..."

"Family is where people love and care for you." Piers mutters. "No matter the blood."

"It's ok." Lloyd waves it off, grinning. "Don't worry about it." They make it to the teleporter, and warp away.

Piers yawns. "I need to rest..."

"MARVELOUS!" Raine cries. Lloyd and Genis stop dead.

"... professor..?" Lloyd asks in a small voice. Raine whirls, and spots the three of them.

"What? What are you two doing here?! You're supposed to be studying in class!"

"uh.. uh-oh!" Lloyd remembers the way behind them is the warp, and that Raine is in the way of their actual escape...

"Uh-oh. What do we do now?" Piers whispers. Raine approaches, and snatches Genis up, bending him over her knee. Lloyd flinches and starts inching past the professor.

"Raine! I.. I'm sorry!" Genis wails, as his sister spanks him.

Piers quickly starts rummaging through his bag. "Damn...Where's that Teleport Gem?!" Raine turns on Lloyd, and the teen barely gets his arms up before his teacher kicks him. Lloyd goes flying. She turns on Piers.

"Professor...Don't make me fight back...Please..." He starts calling up his remaining strength.

Raine frowns. From somewhere, she's got a staff. "You should know better than to cut class."

"It was research, professor. We found out about the trials the chosen has to go through."

"And Lloyd said that, didn't he." Raine crossed her arms, tapping a finger on the staff she still held.

"I, uh, agreed, Professor..."

"And there we go!" Raine roars, and launches a kick. Piers jumps back, but gets caught by the edge and is sent sprawling. Raine dusts off her hands, and then turns back to the wall. "Now, you three, if you've learned your lesson, go back home. There will be no class for the rest of the day."

"What about you?" Genis moans, standing again.

"I've received permission from Phaidra to study this temple a little while longer. It's not often that ordinary citizens have the opportunity to enter this place." Raine wanders off.

"Ugh...She's fast." Piers gets to his knees, wincing. Lloyd nods mutely, and they head for the door.

"MUHAHAHAHAHA!" Comes echoing from behind them.

"What the hell was that?!"

"...You're better off knowing." Genis mutters, looking grim. "You really are..."

"I think I'm going to take your word for it..." Lloyd says, inching for the door.

Piers grumbles. "Now I'm even tireder. I hope my Psyn...Magic comes back soon..."

"Huh?" Genis asks, looking up at Piers as they headed out. the dead were still there... Lloyd skirts them.

"My magic." Piers says.

"Let's get back to Iselia." Lloyd starts down the stairs, neither Kratos, Colette, or Phaidra was in sight...

Piers gasps suddenly, sinking to his knees. "Agh..." He swears. "Dammit..."

"Hey.." Genis stops, looking at Piers.

Lloyd stops, noticing they aren't behind him, and comes back up. "Hey, you ok?"

"T-Too tired. I can't move...dammit, I knew I should have kept up with my training." He pushes himself to his feet. Piers stumbles, falling onto Lloyd.

Lloyd yelps, and catches Piers, holding him up fairly easily. "Hey, you're pretty light. You eating enough?"

"I am a mage. I don't need to build myself up." Piers explains.

"Yeah, yeah." Lloyd says, helping Piers to walk. if its possible. otherwise, poor Lloyd will just carry Piers. "You used a sword."

"So? I'm a Mariner after all."

"Huh?" Lloyd asks.

"I think it means he's able to use a sword, but he uses magic more often. You'd be called a Twin-blade, or something close." Genis guesses. "I'm just a plain Mage."

"Oh..." Lloyd thinks he gets it.

Piers shrugs, pushing himself off Lloyd. "Lets go."

"Yeah." Lloyd looks a tad confused yet, but they head back to Iselia. A few wolf-monsters attack them, but even with wooden-swords, Lloyd could kill them. Piers sighs. When they split up, Piers catches Genis' eye, motioning for him to come over. Genis comes over, as Lloyd starts dusting himself off, heading to the left - Colette's house.

"Why couldn't we tell Lloyd about me being...you know." Piers whispers.

"Because..." Genis glances up, then at his feet. "Most people hate Half-Elves. because Desians are mostly all Half-Elves, and look at the things they do." Genis shifts. "Iselia is pretty Anti-Half-elf.. and I don't know how Lloyd thinks of them. We, Raine and I, we told the Iselian's we're elves."

"You're half too? I told 'em I was human..."

Genis shrugs. "We use magic - we had to tell them we were elves. Human's can't use magic unless they have Elven blood." Genis frowns. "Although, that Kratos guy.. i can't tell if he was full or half elven..."

"Or something different... He's a strange one..."

"He's too tall to be a dwarf." Gensi says with a laugh. Lloyd spins, farther along the road.

"Hey! Colette told us to stop by, right? C'mon!" he waves and yells.

Piers sighs. "I wish I had Lloyd's energy about now."

"Don't- it comes at the cost of your brain." Genis teases his academically challenged friend. Lloyd turns back around to head for Colette's house. The streamers flick in the wind.

Piers smirks, getting an idea. "Watch this." Getting a second wind of energy, he runs after Lloyd. "Hey! Race ya!"

"Huh? Sure~!" Lloyd stops walking and sprints, dashing ahead, white streamers and swords flicking back and forth as he runs.

"I'm not racing!" Genis says, waving his arms in defeat. "I refuse to run!"

Piers mouths "just watch" to Genis, bursting into a sprint. Once he gets close enough, he grabs the streamers and pulls. Lloyd squawks, arms flailing as this unbalances him, the streamers are attached to the collar of his jacket, and he falls backwards, feet in the air.

Piers makes it to Colette's door. "I win."

Lloyd gets up. "You cheated!" Genis is laughing, but he walks past Lloyd to join Piers at the door.

Lloyd makes a face at Piers as he opens the door."-protection of the Chosen to Kratos and Raine." the mayor says. Inside Colette's house, he sits at the head of the table, Kratos sitting in a chair to his right, Phaidra, Frank and Colette sitting down the left side.

"..I have no objections." Kratos says. Colette notices them in the doorway.

"Thank you so much for your help earlier!" she says, waving. Phaidra and Frank look up at this too, Kratos glancing once, then studying the grain of the table.

"Ohh, you're back! Thank you for your assistance earlier! Please accept this small thanks." Phaidra slides a book down the table.

"Eh? What's this...?" Lloyd looks at the book in his hands like its homework, the most dreaded thing in the world.

"It's a Collectors Book, Lloyd." Genis sighs, and takes it. "You mark off things you see in it."

"That's useful. You can keep a record of what's helpful and harmful." Piers takes a peek at the book. It's currently blank.

"Yes." Genis says. "Thank you."

"Thanks, Phaidra." Lloyd says. "Say.. were you talking about the World Regeneration Journey just now?"

"Yes." Phaidra says. Piers shuts up and pays attention.

"Wow!" Lloyd cheers, as if he hadn't just seen an angel. "I want to go too! I wanna see Colette regenerate the world." You can almost see Kratos twitch at that, and Phaidra looks worried.

"If Raine is going, I want to go too." Genis says.

"And someone needs to keep an eye on these two." Piers adds.

"No." Kratos says, looking irritated. Lloyd and Genis blink and look at him. "You'll only get in the way." Lloyd looks like he's been slapped with a fish.

"Wh..what?!" Lloyd asks, getting rather angry. First the guy shows up out of the blue, tells him to get out of the way, then tells him to be a 'good boy' and now says he'll get in the way?! Kratos stands up, his arms crossed, and his right hand seeming to droop for the sword still at his side. Piers glares at Kratos, his energy building up. He shifts into a ready position. He REALLY didn't trust Kratos. Kratos semi-glares down at them, looking irritated that they don't just take the hint and get going.

"The battles at the chapel were nothing compared to the battles ahead, on the road and in the Seals." he flicks his eyes past Piers again. "Children.. need to stay home." he seems to be bringing up Piers's dislike of him calling them that on purpose.

"Children need chances to prove their adulthood." Piers retorts. Kratos snorts.

"Kratos is absolutely right." The mayor says. "Now then, we still have things to discuss. You three should go on home." Lloyd turns, fuming, and heads for the door. Genis gives a small smile to Colette, and Kratos sits back down after hooking his chair back into place. Piers is greatly considering casting a spell on Kratos, but leaves with Lloyd and Genis.

"Please wait!" Colette follows them, and as Lloyd and Genis turn around, she trips on the doorstep of her house. Piers blinks, grabbing her arm.

"Careful. Some doorsteps can be deadly." Lloyd shakes his head as Colette thanks Piers.

"No, Colette is just a Klutz..." Lloyd says.

Genis nods. "You saw the hole in the wall of the school, didn't you? The one shaped like a girl..."

"Oh, I remember that!" Colette says with a bright smile. "It was during Spring Cleaning, I was helping the Professor and I tripped and.." she blushed.

"T-That was you?" Piers gapes.

"Um.. yeah..." Colette looks away. Genis gets the light bulb above his head, and then fishes around in his pocket.

"Oh, Colette, I almost forgot!" Genis pulls out a small cloth bag. "Happy 16th Birthday, Colette!" Lloyd looks startled, then frantic.

"Oh, yeah. I have something, too!" Piers fishes out a small pearl on a piece of metal string. "It's a rare pearl... My mother gave it to me. I thought you'd like it."

"But.. if it's your mothers, I can't take it..." She protests at Piers's pearl. "It's very pretty." Lloyd is looking through his pockets.

Genis grins. "I baked you cookies! If I knew you'd be leaving tomorrow, I'd have made something a little more special but..."

"Just take it. It'll protect you more than me. Its made for a woman. Its one of those sexist charms that hardly work for men." Piers mutters. Colette doesn't know what that word means, but since he insisted, she beams at them both, taking the cookies and necklace.

"Genis, I love your cookies! Thank you very much! Both of you!" Genis glances at Lloyd sneakily.

"So, what about you, Lloyd? You promised to make her a necklace, right?" Genis whispers over to his friend.

"Uhhh..." Lloyd rubs the back of his head. "Heh..."

Genis sweat drops. "Don't tell me you forgot..."

"Uh, it's.. It's almost done." Lloyd tells Colette. "Uh, I'll give it to you... Tomorrow, before you leave. I swear!"

"Really?" Colette says, completely oblivious to the fact that Lloyd hadn't even started making her gift yet. "I'm so happy! As soon as I find out when we're leaving, I'll go to your house to let you know." Piers smirks at Genis.

"Isn't that going to be dangerous?" Lloyd asks, thinking of the forest between the two places.

"I'm the Chosen, remember? I'll be fine. See you later, then." Colette grins at him.

"She's doomed." Piers whispers to Genis.

"Don't say that." Genis whispers, making a horrified face. Colette turns and manages to walk back into the house without tripping, and shuts the door.

"I'm joking. She'll be fine." Piers mutters.

"she better be.. the world is running out of mana..." Genis shudders, then turns to Lloyd. "Liar." Lloyd looks back at the door quickly.

"If I start on it now, I'll finish it in time." Lloyd shrugs.

"That means getting no sleep. I don't think you can do it." Piers says to Lloyd. Lloyd sticks his tongue out at Piers.

"Oh, really? Well, whatever." Genis secretly agrees with Piers. "By the way, you're going home now, right? Can I go part of the way with you?"

"Sure, but where are you gunna go? I wanna get my stuff from the classroom first."

"I'm.. going to see a friend." Genis says.

"A friend?" Piers asks.

Lloyd is also confused. "Huh? I didn't know you had friends outside the village besides me." Genis starts walking for the school.

"Does it matter?" Genis calls back over his shoulder. "Anyway, can we swing by my place after the school? so I can get my stuff." Lloyd nods, and heads after Genis for the School.

Piers just tags along. "While you guys are at school, I need to get my stuff." They head for the school, and Lloyd grabs his equally bright-red bag, before he realizes Raine is in the front of the classroom.

"Hey, it's Raine." Genis points out, then goes up to his sister. Lloyd follows, memory of the kick brighter.

"Professor." He gets her attention tentatively.

"Oh, Lloyd, Genis, Piers." Raine sounds a bit absentminded. "Class is over for today."

"Raine... A-Are you okay?" Piers remembers that kick too.

"Yes." She's looking at the chalk she had beamed Lloyd in the face with earlier.

"We know that." Lloyd comments about the class bit. "I heard you were going with Colette on the Journey..?"

"Yes, that's right. It's too dangerous a journey to send Colette alone." Raine says.

"But.. Then what's Genis going to do?" Lloyd asks. Raine turns to the board, placing the chalk back.

"I asked Frank and Phaidra to take care of him." She says.

"Raine.. I.." Que touchy sibling moment.

"Genis.. I promise I'll come back, so please, don't look like that." she turns to Lloyd and Piers. "Lloyd, Piers, please look after Genis for me."

"Yeah..." Lloyd wants to flee the touchy-feely moment.

"Sure. Of course."

"Please be careful, Raine. Don't do anything dangerous and don't go near any ruins." Genis says. "And don't offer to cook for them!" Lloyd winces with a laugh at a memory, and Raine scowls at the last.

"I'll be fine."

"..Promise me you'll come back!" Genis flees and Lloyd follows him after waving goodbye to Raine. Piers does so as well, running to his house and getting his Pirate's Blade and sheath. Genis and Lloyd wait outside Genis's house, and then go inside once Piers arrives. Genis sets about making sandwiches, explaining that Gels are nice, but expensive. Thus food is good too. Lloyd doesn't get how eating food can heal him, but food is good, so he doesn't think on it for long. Piers also explains that his Ply doesn't take much of his strength. After eating a late lunch, curtsey of Genis, they head to the village gates.

"Lloyd! Do something about this.. this thing!" One of the pitchfork wielding, home-made helmet wearing guards says, indicating the whining large animal.

"What?"

"Your pet! This.. creature!" The second one nods at the large white and green creature.

"Noishe!" Lloyd cheers at the critter. Piers runs over to Noishe and starts petting him. He loved that creature. Noishe whines at him, eyeing him with his small brown eyes, and then whines at Lloyd.

"Hey.. how many times have I told you not to enter the village?" Lloyd asks his 'dog'. Noishe whines at him, flicking his tail and ears.

"Hey, You always have him bring you to the village!" Genis protests. "Don't talk to him that way."

"What do you mean, smelled something familiar..?" Lloyd asks his pet.

Piers blinks. "You can talk to him?"

"Kinda... I get the gist of it." Lloyd admits, grinning.

"Oh, that reminds me." Guard 2 says. "The mayor wanted me to ask you a question, Lloyd."

"From the mayor..?" Lloyd masks his grimace. "What is it?"

"It's about the NorthWest forest you go through. You know there's a human ranch on the way through, right? You haven't been playing near the ranch, have you?"

"Ranch?" Piers mutters.

"Of course not!" Lloyd says to the guard. "Right, Genis?"

"Y..yeah, of course not." Genis turns to Piers. "Is Lloyd contagious? Human Ranches are the bases of Desians, where they force captives to make things for them, or something like that."

"Really?" the guard asks. "If so that's fine, but.. that weird animal..."

"How many times do I have to tell you that Noishe.. is .. a .. Dog!?" Lloyd asks, throwing his arms into the air.

"Noishe is cute. Not weird." Piers tells the dog to reassure him.

"Ah, sorry. He just doesn't look like a dog.." Gaurd 2 soothes Lloyd. "Anyway, make sure he doesn't go near the ranch either."

"W..we can go now, right?" Genis asks, shifting to look at Noishe. "Let's go."

"Be careful, you three." the first guard says.

"We will." Lloyd waves. "See you tomorrow." Lloyd turns to Noishe. "Time to go, Noishe." Noishe whines, eyeing the village.

"What's the matter with him?" Piers asks, peering at Noishe.

"He smells something familiar. Maybe someone's cooking his favorite food." Lloyd shrugs. Noishe whines at him, giving the distinct impression of 'why am i with this stupid human.' Piers picks up on it, petting the creature, chuckling. Noishe whines at him, the teary look on his face saying 'why couldn't it be you who could understand me?' Or something of the like. Lloyd leads the way to the Forest. Piers smiles, glancing at Lloyd. Noishe suddenly halts, they were in the entrance to the forest, a clearing below a cliff face.

"Whiiiiine!" Lloyd turns back, looking startled.

"Ah.. thats right. Noishe doesn't like this place." Genis says.

"He'll never go near places that have lots of monsters..Even though you hardly ever see monsters bigger than him... like that golem..." Lloyd mutters.

"Whiiiine!" Noishe turns tail and runs.

"Awh. Poor Noishe..." He draws his sword, just in case. The perfectly crafted metal gleams in the evening light. Lloyd spends a moment staring at the base of the cliff, before shaking his head and turning away.

"Ah, he ran off again! Fine, do whatever you want, Noishe." Lloyd looks exasperated.

"I keep thinking, if he's going to run away, he should at least take us with him." Genis mutters. Piers glances at the two before sheathing the sword, loosening it a bit in its sheath.

"Well? Shall we go?"

"Yeah." Lloyd says, crossing his arms for his own blades, but grins as he realizes there's no monsters as of yet. "This way." he walks for a path up the cliff, through the forest. There aren't too many monsters stirring at this time - a little before sunset, when it's still light. a few bees, one or two sets of mushrooms. They reach a split in the road, one heading for the cliff-top, one heading farther into the forest.

"This is my stop." Genis heads for the cliff-top path. Lloyd stops to look strangely at Genis.

"At the Desian Human Ranch?" Lloyd asks, a little shocked. "Doesn't going there violate the non-aggression treaty?"

"It does if he goes Desian hunting." Piers says. "I'll come with, Genis."

"Lloyd, the Desians already attacked the temple." Genis points out the other conversation they had about this.

"Well, yeah, I guess that's true but.." Lloyd still has reservations.

"I know I'm not supposed to go, but there's someone I just have to tell about the oracle! I'm not going to pick any fights or anything.." Genis says.

"... I'm comming with." Lloyd sighs.

"Thanks, you two." Genis says, before leading the way up to the ranch. The trio sneak around the edge of a large teal fence, much to high to climb, even with its chain-link like pattern. they stay to the bushes, and crouch there. Some humans, clad in potato sack like garments, are shoving around large stone blocks, rougher than what the Golem had turned into upon defeat.

Piers twitches slightly, hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "Ghk...This is...What is this?"

"This is the human ranch.." Genis whispers, and Lloyd's hands clench. The Desians and their working humans leave the yard. An old woman rounds the corner, clad like them, but not looking as fearful. She moves for the fence near them. Genis jumps from the bush they sit in. "Marble." he says, moving closer to the fence.

Piers follows, nudging Genis in the back. "I'll keep watch." Genis nods, and Lloyd follows them too.

"Genis!" Marble sounds like a generic hard-working grandma. "These are your friends?" She looks from Piers to Lloyd.

"Yeah. I'm Lloyd." Lloyd almost offers her his hand, before recognizing the barrier of a large fence between them.

"I'm Piers..."

"I'm pleased to meet you." For all she was in the ranch, it was like she was in the comfort of her home.

"Marble, did you see it?" Genis asks, all 12 year old enthusiasm. "There was an oracle!"

"Yes I did. I saw the Tower of Salvation. Now, the Chosen's journey of regeneration can finally begin. I hope it is successful this time..." She says, nodding.

"The last Chosen failed, right?" Lloyd asks.

Marble nods. "Yes. I heard the Chosen was killed by Desians during the journey."

"I wonder if Colette will be all right?..." Genis mutters.

"Colette won't fail. She has Raine and Kr...That Mercenary with her." Piers swiftly avoids the hated name. Lloyd has a frown-second on at the mention of 'That Mercenary's' name, but he gets over it.

"Let us pray to Martel. May she guide the Chosen on a safe journey." Marble says. Amazing how people in horrible conditions keep their faith. Lloyd spots something on the back of Marble's hand when she clasps them for prayer. Piers draws his sword, laying it tip into the earth as he kneels and prays to his deity of choice. A green-blue gem, set directly into her skin, and veins seemingly coming from, or to it.

"Hey, grams..." Lloyd says after a respectful prayer time had passed, comfortable to call her something other than Ma'am.

"Her name's Marble!" Genis elbows Lloyd.

"..Marble." Lloyd agrees, still watching her right hand. "Isn't that an Exsphere?" He indicates her hand.

"Oh, is that what it's called?" Marble asks. "They placed it on me shortly after I came here."

"Exsphere...Like yours?" Piers looks at Lloyd.

"Kinda." Lloyd shifts the wrapping on the back of his hand. On the back of his left hand is a gold-brown plate with an intricate design, with a round dark-blue gem on it, and it was somehow different from the one Kratos wore. "That's definitely an Exsphere, and Mine is too. But yours has no Key Crest on it. An Exsphere without a Key Crest is dangerous." Lloyd taps the gold-brown base.

"I...It feels dangerous...." Piers mutters. "The aura..." Genis looks curiously at Piers, but he wants to know something else a bit more.

"What's a Key Crest? And how is it Dangerous?" Lloyd wraps his bandage back over his Exsphere, then hooks his thumbs into his belt.

"Attaching an Exsphere directly to your skin supposedly makes you sick. But ironically, it's useless unless you attach it directly onto the skin." Lloyd says from memory, staring at a spot above Marble's head on the fence.

"And the Key Crest...Prevents the sickness?" Piers guesses.

"Yeah. In order to prevent it from making you sick, you carve a spell into a special ore and use that as a mount for the Exsphere. That's the Key Crest." He taps the base again. "There's a few different shapes you can make the ore into, but the spell and the material are the important parts."

"You're very knowledgeable." Marble complements Lloyd, and he rubs the back of his head.

"But Marble's Exsphere doesn't have a mount!" Genis points out.

Piers stares at Lloyd. "Wow. You've actually learned something." Lloyd sticks his tongue out at Piers.

"Nope. There's no mount at all. If the charm was the only thing needed, I could carve one myself, but there's nothing I can do without the inhibitor ore that acts as the mount." Lloyd thinks.

"There has to be something you can do, Lloyd!" Genis says.

"Where can we get this ore you need?" Piers asks.

"It's not as easy as you think." Lloyd says. "Key Crests are dwarven technology."

"Your dad is a Dwarf." Genis says, as if he had to poke Lloyd into doing anything. "Please ask him for help!" Lloyd nods.

"Fine, Fine, I'll ask him."

"All right! That's why I like you, Lloyd." Genis beams up at Lloyd.

"Please don't trouble yourself." MArble says.

"Hey, Old hag, what the hell you doin' over there?!" A man calls out, and Marble glances back.

"Oh, no! The Desians.. Run away, you three, hurry!" Marble says to the teens. Piers nods, getting ready to pull Genis away if needed.

"But..." Lloyd might be the one Piers should be worried about. "Who knows what they may do to her...."

"I know that, but what can we do? If the Desians find out we're here, just think about what they'll do to Marble and the people of the village!" Genis glances farther into the ranch.

Piers grabs both of them. "Talk later!"

"That's right, you must go!" Marble says.

"I'm sorry, grams!" Lloyd twists out of Piers's grip, and darts back into the bush. Genis wave's bye, and follows. Piers nods at Marble, retreating into the bushes, too. Marble turns around as a trio of desians round the corner.

"What are you doing over here?! Who said you could slack off?! Get back to work!" one says.

"..I'm sorry." Marble mutters.

"What's with that look, huh?" The second asks.

"like someone's got an attitude problem!" the third says. Piers had hung back, watching, keeping his anger under control.

"No, of course not, I..." Marble looks and sounds worried.

"Shaddup! You two, take her to the back! We're gonna give her a little lesson on respect!" the first says, and the other two chorus "Yeah!" they quickly surround Marble, and head her out of the teen's sight.

"Oh, This doesn't look good.." Lloyd mutters, disentangling himself from the bush. "They're taking her to the back." Not that he knows what that entails, but..

Piers growls. "What do we do?" He knows they can do nothing.

"There's gotta be something." Lloyd mutters. "Let's find higher ground where we can see what's going on in there." Genis nods, and they head back around to the front of the ranch. There's a cliff face to the right, and Lloyd indicates it. "We climb that so we can see." Genis voices that he's not sure if he can climb it, but Lloyd says he'll help. Piers starts climbing, flashes of his memories surfacing. He smiles slightly. Lloyd assists Genis, and then climbs like a monkey up himself. They peer into the ranch, and spot the Desians moving in on Marble with their whips ready.

"She's.." Genis stares in horror.

"We've gotta save her." Lloyd sounds angry now.

"But how?!" Genis wails.

"I-I could try casting Diamond Dust. But I'd need to be closer. I'm not from Iselia..So I won't be breaking the treaty." Piers offers. Lloyd thinks.

"If you get closer, you'll be seen. Genis can cast Fireball."

"But we're from Iselia, we'll get in trouble!"

"We don't have a choice!" Lloyd retorts. "Afterwards, you two hide among the bushes and make your way back to the village. I'll act as a decoy."

"I can cast Cool. Think of it as a cold version of Fireball." Piers says.

"Work it out between you two." Lloyd says, moving for the edge of the cliff. "Marble's in danger."

"You'll be in danger!" Genis protests.

"Don't worry." Lloyd grins back. "I'll head down the cliff so they don't see my face, then I'll run in the opposite direction from the village."

".. Piers, if you can reach, you can cast your ice spell. I'll follow it with Fireball." Genis says, pulling out his Kendama. Lloyd grins wider.

"Cool is the only one that can reach from here..." Piers draws his sword, an aura glowing around it and himself. Something blue shimmers in the air as the spell freezes the water vapor into an ice-ball. Only fast. Its then hurled at the nearest Desian to Marble. Genis catches twirls the Kendama, catching the ball, before thrusting it forward. A trio of Fireballs fly, one for each Desian. Two collapse, and the third turns.

"What the?!" Lloyd jumps from the cliff face to the large fence-top, his bright coat and flicking streamers attracting the Desian's attention as he ran along the fence toward the gate.

"Quick, down the cliff!" Genis hisses, moving back. Piers fires off another Ice Ball, following Genis.

"There he is! Stop him!" One Desian points up at Lloyd.

"Open the main gate!" Another shouts. Lloyd jumps down at the gate, and starts running. Two Desians come out the gate. Some slaves move to help Marble.

"Are you all right?"

"Quickly, come this way.."

"Genis, Lloyd, Piers.. thank you.." Marble mumbles. Genis drops down from the cliff. Piers follows Genis. As Lloyd runs for the cliff face, Genis makes his way cautiously behind the bushes to the Desians right. and trips on a root.

"oww.." he hisses. the Desians stop.

"What was that?" Piers crouches by Genis, placing his palm on the boy's ankle, healing it slightly, a bit too weak to successfully heal the sprain, but the pain was gone.

"Uh-oh." Lloyd quickly makes a u-turn, drawing his blades to run back and face the Desians.

"You little brat!" Successfully distracting the Desians from Genis, Lloyd starts attacking, using the newfound attack Tiger Blade.

"What should we do?" Piers mutters.

"Get out of here." Genis hisses.

"Whiiine." Noishe sneaks up on them. he nudges Genis, trying to get his head and shoulders under the boy.

"huh..?" Genis uses Noishe to get up, and then climb on the critters' back. "I think Noishe has a plan."

Piers nods. "Think he can carry both?"

Genis nods, and so does Noishe. "He thinks so." Lloyd has taken down one of the Desians and is working on the other.

Piers climbs on. "Lead on." Noishe whines, then runs for the cliff face. Genis looks shocked.

"Whaa?!" Noishe jumps. Lloyd grins, taking down the last Desian.

Piers blinks. "What the hell?" Noishe lands easily, and walks forward, then shakes. Genis tumbles off. A few seconds later, and Lloyd comes crashing through the trees, to roll and get back up. He'd also taken the fast way down.

"Lloyd, they saw your face! I'm sorry! It's all my fault..." Genis wails, getting up and giving Noishe a wary look. Piers is thrown off, yelping.

"Don't worry about it." Lloyd dusts down his pants, and pulls a crossbow bold that had lodged in his streamer out, grimacing at the tear. he's had no problem with the jump.

"But.." Genis really feels bad about messing up.

"I took out the ones that saw my face, and the rest of them are still back up on the cliff. " Lloyd says, crossing his arms as if it was all that simple. "As long as we hurry up and get out of here, they'll never know."

Piers stands, dusting off again. "Yeah."

"o..ok.." Genis still feels bad.

"... Just do my homework for me, ok?" Lloyd grins.

"Ok!" Genis says.

"Blackmail." Piers notes.

"All right then, I'm gonna head on home. You two should head back to the village." Lloyd notes that Noishe has already run off, before moving back for the mountain path. Piers nods, motioning at Genis to follow.

"Thanks for helping Marble!" Genis calls back to Lloyd.

"That's what friends are for, right?" Lloyd replies, before heading home.

* * *

I OWN NOTHING

Leon controls - Piers

Frozen controls just about everyone else (for now)

Piers = Golden Sun/Camelot

Everyone Else = Bamco/ Tales Of


	3. Embers in the Wind

Yeah

we've got pretty far on this one, and I'm only lightly touching it up this time....

so if it looks a little raw, thats why. :D

Neither of us own anything. Piers and Lemuria, and that random book and the shiney rock, and the Pirate Sword, belong to Golden Sun. Everything that isn't one of those five things belongs to Namco, and the Tales of Studio. :D

* * *

Someone knocks at Piers's door a few hours after Genis and he return to Iselia. Piers falls out of bed.

Literally, still half asleep, opening the door. "Mm?" It's Colette, with Genis behind her, Raine farther down, and Kratos standing in the street, looking disinterested.

"Do you want to come with us?" Colette asks. "We're going to visit Lloyd, to let him know when we're leaving in the morning."

"Give me a few minutes to wake up and get ready...Come in. I can't leave friends standing outside." Piers says sleepily, forcing himself to wake up.

"Ok!" Colette says, and all of them but Kratos enter. He's content with leaning against the outside of the house. Piers leaves them for a few minutes. The articles in the lower room are interesting, to say the least. The centerpiece is a glass-like box on the mantle. Inside is a blue gem. It seems to glow with its own light. Raine is inspecting it without picking it up, while Colette looks at something random and sparkly, and Genis looks for books. A big volume is on the sofa. Its entitled "Alchemy and its properties." Genis plops down next to it, and looks at it for a moment, before opening it. Raine's picked up a candle and is inspecting the centerpiece. Colette is happily thrilled with whatever it is she had found. A ring. It seems to glow green in the light. Piers comes down and smiles at Colette.

"I see you found the Spirit Ring, Colette." Piers says.

"Is that what its called?" Colette asks, looking at it. "It's sparkly." Cue Genis-face palm, except he's fascinated with the book. Kratos glances in, but sees that Piers is almost ready to go, and doesn't comment, looking back outside.

"Piers." Raine calls. "What's this?"

"Oh, that. That is the Mercury Elemental Star. They say it's the embodiment of water."

"Fascinating~.." Genis pulls his head out of the book, looking horrified.

"Sis, we have to go now, right? if we wait until too late, Lloyd will be asleep, and you know how nothing can wake him up!" He jumps up, quickly memorizing the page number he was on.

Colette blinks. "Right!" Kratos is heard to give a tiny, tiny sigh.

"If he doesn't, I have a spell or two that might work." Piers mutters evilly. Genis latches onto Raine's arm, and pulls her away from the centerpiece.

"C'mon, Sis." she gives in, although she does give Piers a look that says 'I want to examine that when I get back.' Kratos looks happy to be on the move now, and they head for the village gate.

"Oh, Raine, you can't touch it. It burns. And they don't heal." Piers mentions. Raine looks a little put out. They head to the forest, and Kratos just automatically draws his sword, killing every monster he comes across. Even the ones that were sleeping. "You can study it. Just don't touch it."

"What a wonderful challenge~" Raine says. Genis is walking next to Raine and Colette, and noticeably inching away from Kratos as the mercenary just walks around the group, killing things methodically. He seems to be pleased.... if the fact he just kept walking and killing things without much change of expression was any indication. Piers yawns some more. It doesn't take them too much longer to reach the small clearing in the forest where a small two story house is. a log-bridge crosses a creek, and behind it is a tomb stone, with fresh flowers, not incredibly fresh, perhaps the morning they had been left there, at its base. Colette happily skips over.

"You can't expect me not to do anything now that I know!" Colette stops at Lloyd's shout from inside the house.

Piers blinks. "What the-?" A heavier weight moves, and a lighter shortly after.

"Ugh!..." Lloyd makes an angry noise. "You don't have to hit me!" He throws open the door and stomps out. Tilting his head back, he took a few calming breaths of the night air, before realizing he had company. "... Oh.." He says, sticking his hands into his pockets. "Let me guess. You heard that just now..?" He sounds remarkably calm.

"Uh, yeah." Piers says.

"I'm sorry, because of me, you..." Genis mutters, kicking a rock.

"It's ok." Lloyd brushes it off. "It's not your fault."

"...Lloyd, you should speak with Colette. We'll wait here." Raine says.

"..Ok.." Lloyd looks a little confused.

"Lloyd, let's go up to the terrace." Colette says, completely ignoring the fact he'd have to go through the house with the angry father to go up there.

"Not yet.." Piers conjours up an orb of water. "Dad's still mad. and.. It's rude to not talk to everyone." Lloyd explains.

Colette smiles. "Okay, I'll be waiting on the bench." She moves and sits next to the wall. Kratos had walked off somewhere, his dark purple clothes fitting in with the night even if his hair didn't. Lloyd turns to Genis.

"The Desians are half-elves, right?" Genis asks, low. "So does that mean half-elves are responsible for your mother's death?" He sounds a tad depressed.

"Well, not all half-elves are Desians, right?" Lloyd says. "I don't care if they're half-elves or not."

"Y..yeah.." Genis mutters, turning to think. Piers sighs, splitting the orb into four. He concentraits, making them orbit around him.

"What are you doing?" Lloyd looks at the orbs curiously, leaving Genis in thought by the stream.

"Practicing." Piers smiles. "Water manipulation is my specialty."

"Mani what?" Lloyd makes a face at the large word.

"Controlling water." Piers makes an orb splash Lloyd in the face. Lloyd yelps, and darts back, scowling at Piers.

"Not nice." Lloyd mutters, shaking his hair, which was dropping into his face, covering his right eye and falling in messy spikes.

"Oh yeah? What ya gonna do 'bout it?" Piers smirks. Lloyd frowns, sticking his hands in his pockets. his eyes travel past Piers, then widen.

"huh...? What's **he**doing over there...?" Lloyd shakes his head again, spraying drops of water, and his hair springs back up. "I'll get back at you later..." He walks over to where Kratos is standing next to the gravestone. Piers drops the remaining 3 orbs into the stream. Kratos glances at Lloyd over his shoulder as the boy approaches.

"Whose gravestone is this?" the mercenary asks.

"You heard, right?" Lloyd says, sticking his hands in his pockets. "It's my mom's." Kratos shifts his attention back to stone.

"Anna... hmm." Kratos murmurs the name on the gravestone. "...Is your father alive?" Lloyd gives him a strange look.

"... I don't know." The boy shrugs. "But Dirk is my dad."

"...Yes." Kratos turns to return to the log-bridge. There was a strange note in his normally indifferent voice. "That was a careless thing to ask. I'm sorry." He leaves Lloyd looking confused.

"So, you're going to leave tomorrow too.." Lloyd says, walking up to Raine.

"Why? You miss me?" Raine asks.

"Of course!" Lloyd says, grinning.

"Hehe, Thank you." Raine says. She glances at Lloyd. "By the way, did you finish Colette's present."

"It's.. it's almost done." Lloyd says.

"Oh?" Raine almost caught him on it, but let it go. "Well, I'm sure it'll be fine. You're at least good at craft work."

Lloyd scowled. "... Do both of you have to talk like that?" Raine laughs, turning to think as well.

"Are you done?" Colette asks as Lloyd wanders over.

"Yeah." Together they head up the terrace. Piers has sat down and is nearly asleep.

"I'm sorry for not finishing your birthday present in time." Lloyd says, leaning on the rail.

"It's ok." Colette smiles. "Don't worry about that."

"But this sort of thing is special because you get it **on** your birthday, you know?" Lloyd looks like he's mentally beating himself up over it.

"...Well then, will you just wish me a happy birthday?" Colette says, watching the older boy.

"Of course." Lloyd says. "Happy birthday."

"Hehee... thanks." Colette says. "I'm glad I was able to live to this day." it was soft, that last comment.

"What are you talking about?" Lloyd asks, slightly confused. "You're going to keep on living, and regenerate the world."

"...yeah." Colette says, not looking at Lloyd.

* * *

Piers is scratching some runes into the earth. They're the same that decorate the cover of the book Genis was reading. Genis looks over his shoulder.

"Whatcha doing?" he asks. "They look like the stuff on your book."

* * *

"So about tomorrow..." Lloyd rubs the back of his head, leaning on the railing. "I can't come along with you, can I?"

"Well, it's just because the Desians will be after us, and it's going to be a dangerous journey." _And I don't want you to get hurt.._ is the unspoken sentence. Lloyd doesn't cue in on it.

"Desians.." Lloyd hisses, clenching his fists.

* * *

Piers looks up. "Ah. Its an old language in my tribe..."

"Really? I know it's not Elven, or Angelic. Angelic's runes look different."

* * *

"Up till now. I always thought my mom died in an accident. ...But she was murdered by Desians! Now that I know the truth, there's no way that I could keep living in a village that has a treaty with them." Lloyd hits the rail with a fist.

"..I understand." Colette says, looking at the sky. she closes her eyes for a while.

* * *

"They're Lemurian. You probably won't have heard of us. Not much I can tell you, either." Piers mutters, tracing letters. Genis frowns.

* * *

"Why?" Colette turns to Lloyd, smiling as she tilted her head to one side.

"We're leaving tomorrow at noon. So would you come to the village around then?" she says.

"..Ok! You got it." Lloyd says, happy. "Now I'll be able to see you become an angel with my own eyes."

"..Hehe, yeah." Colette looks up at the moon. "So, Lord Remiel really is my father. I'm the child of an angel.."

* * *

"Oath of secrecy. Unless I take you to Lemuria." Piers says.

"Doesn't that negate the oath? taking someone back to the place sworn not to talk about?" Genis says.

* * *

"Does it matter? Regardless of who your real father is, you're still you. Nothing's changed. You just have two fathers. Just think of yourself as being lucky for having more than most people do." Lloyd is unaware of the irony he's spouting.

* * *

"Its...complicated..." Piers says, shifting for an explanation.

"I'll say." Genis snorts. "What's it read?" he indicates the runes.

* * *

"I suppose you're right." Colette says.

"World Regeneration, huh." Lloyd says, looking at stars again. "It's kind of exciting." He grins.

"Yeah..." Colette sounds a little funny. "Releasing the seals, becoming an angel, then.. finally.." she trails off.

"Finally?" Lloyd asks, looking confused.

"Um, nothing." Colette smiles at him.

* * *

"Uh...Danger." Piers says.

* * *

"Anyway, if we go to the Seal of Fire, I'll get to see my father again. I'm going to do my best." Colette says.

"Yeah, me too." Lloyd says. Raine opens the Door behind the two teens.

"Are you ready to go?" She asks the girl.

"Ah, yes" Colette says, turning away from Lloyd. "I'm coming." she turns back to Lloyd. "See you later, Lloyd."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

"Yeah.. Goodbye." Piers stands, erasing the runes and dusting himself off. Colette, and Raine come out of the house, and Kratos steps out of whatever shadow he had been occupying to stand by the bridge.

"All right, time to make that present." Lloyd says to himself, before turning to wave back at Genis, Colette and Piers. Kratos has already turned for the path back to Iselia. Piers decides to take the lead, attacking the monsters with fluid-like movements of the sword. Kratos doesn't care, he's killing things anyway. Mostly mushroom like monsters and things like wolves attack them. Kratos leaves them at the village gate, Genis and Raine splitting off for their house. Piers goes home and sleeps.

* * *

29th of August.

* * *

It's around 10 when the celebration for Colette's leaving starts, and when Lloyd is nowhere to be found.

"where's Lloyd?" Genis asks, peering through the crowd with the help of a fence. "I thought he wouldn't miss this for anything.."

"Maybe he slept in?" Colette offers, smiling.

"Want me to go get him?" Piers asks.

"No, its fine. He needs his sleep." Colette says hurriedly. Kratos wants no part of all this, and is already by the gate of the village, leaning against the fence and watching the road. Piers sighs, leaning against the fence Genis is on. the Mayor gives some spiel, and then Kratos, Colette and Raine leave. Genis hops off the fence in the milling people.

"C'mon, let's let Lloyd know. I wonder why he slept in. Colette did tell him when she was leaving." Genis mutters.

"Okay, give me a minute. I need to finish packing." Piers says.

"Huh?" Genis asks, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Oh, I forgot. Its time for me to move on. I'm a traveler, remember?" Piers explains, heading for his house.

"Oh.. right.." Genis rubs his head. "I'll make some sandwiches - Dirk won't feed Lloyd if he's not up for breakfast."

"I'll meet you in a few, then." Piers wanders off.

"Ok." Genis wanders over to his house and makes a few sandwiches. Piers comes back with a hefty backpack. "Ready?" Genis sounds a bit sad as he packs up the handful of sandwiches.

"Yeah. Here." He takes the book that Genis was reading, handing it to the boy.

"Huh? but it's yours, isn't it? from your secret people." Genis holds it as best as he can. (I'm guessing it's a good third of his torso size.)

"Psh. It's not like I wrote directions to Lemuria in it. Besides, I know it by heart."

"Ok!" Genis hugs it to him, before putting it in his sack. "Let's go to Lloyd's place." Genis leads the way out of the village. most the crowd/party is dispersed and cleaned up. Piers follows. Genis leads the way, frying a few wasps.

* * *

Lloyd smiles at a necklace. "It's finished! Ok, I'd better have a talk with dad." Lloyd walks to the gravestone, and Dirk's there.

"Dad.. about yesterday.." Lloyds rubs the back of his head. "I just.."

"Here." Dirk turns and hands him something. "...That's the key crest you wanted. You can use it however you like. Just remember, I did try to stop you."

"Dad!" Lloyd pockets it. "Thanks!"

"Dwarven Vow #2: Never abandon someone in need." the short man hooks his thumbs in his belt. "I'm just going along with the teachings."

"Dad, I'm going on a journey. I'm going to help Colette regenerate the world so that I can avenge my mom." Lloyd says.

Dirk nods. "...Yeah. I figured you were going to say that. Take this with you." he hands Lloyd a sack. "I've put together some things you'll need for your trip." Lloyd finds a few assorted gels, what looks like scrap from the forge, Gald, and a Map.

"So you're forgiving me?" He asks.

"...Yeah. But remember, this is your home. You're still my son, regardless of blood. Come back here any time you're tired."

"...I will. Wish me luck!"

"Lloyd! Don't ever forget Dwarven Vow #7! " Lloyd makes a face. Piers glances at Genis. They're on the other side of the bridge.

"'Goodness and love will always win'...right? Man, that's such a cheesy line for anyone to be saying these days. Don't worry, I won't forget it. "Lloyd turns to Noishe. "Let's go, Noishe! It's time to regenerate the world!"

"Lloyd..?"

"huh? what are you two doing here?" Lloyd spots Piers and Genis.

"You slept in? Or what? Colette's gone." Piers asks.

"Genis! Dad made the key crest for Marble... Huh?! But I decided to join her!" Lloyd looks really confused.

"Are you stupid or something? Colette and the others left a long time ago!" Genis shouts at Lloyd.

"What?!" Lloyd looks shocked. Piers face palms.

"I came looking for you because you never showed up!" Genis says.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Lloyd shouts.

"Lloyd, Go to the village, now!" Dirk shouts out the window at Lloyd, probably standing on a chair to do so.

"Yeah!" Genis grabs Lloyd's arm, and starts for the bridge and town. Piers had a going-away present for Lloyd, too, but it could wait.

"Lloyd, Phaidra was looking for you." the first guard says when they return.

"Phaidra..? Ok." Lloyd heads that way, looking a bit troubled.

"Oh, hello, Lloyd." Phaidra says as Lloyd opens the door a bit loudly.

"Phaidra!" Lloyd stops next to the table. "Is it true that Colette already left?"

"Indeed."

"... Did she tell me the wrong time?" Lloyd asks.

"Colette asked me to give you this letter." Frank hands Lloyd a piece of paper, and doesn't answer.

"Dear Lloyd, By the time you read this, I will have already left on my journey. I'm sorry for lying to you. The world regeneration journey is full of peril—many Chosens have failed. I care about you too deeply to let you get involved. I'm going to do my best to stop the monsters and the Desians, so I want you to live a happy and peaceful life in the regenerated world. Thank you so much for your friendship and kindness all these years. I'm really lucky to have met you. Farewell, Colette."

"...What is this? This almost sounds like a will." Lloyd asks, a tad disgusted, but he doesn't crumple the letter after reading it aloud.

"Yes.." Frank says. "You could call it that."

"What do you mean?" Genis asks, troubled.

"Lloyd, Piers, Genis. There is something we hid from you and everyone in the village. Colette...no, the Chosen...is already— " It's a loud noise outside, like an explosion of some type, and Frank shuts up, turning toward a window.

Piers starts. "What in Mercury's name was that?!"

"Whoa!" Genis cries, and Lloyd moves to the door.

"What was that?!" Lloyd echoes Piers. Lloyd throws open the door, going outside. Parts of Iselia are in flames, Desians running about, the same armor colors as the Desians that Lloyd had beat on. Piers follows, swearing.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA! BURN! BURN!" looks like they let the some of the crazy Desians out for this. Another spins, and spots the trio of teens.

"Look! More survivors!" their weapons, whips and blades, are stained red.

"Kill them! Kill all the miserable worms!" the first cackles. Piers conjures up a block of ice, throwing it towards the nearest Desian. It collides with his head with a dull thonk. And a bit of red, of course.

"You'll pay for this!" Lloyd shouts, drawing his blades as he darts forward. Genis charges a fireball as Lloyd starts the melee. Piers draws his sword. It suddenly glows and a tidal wave appears, washing the Desians off their feet. Lloyd has no problem stabbing them while they're down, a frown fixed on his face.

"Look for survivors!" Lloyd shouts, turning for the school, running ready to attack. there's a few small cuts in his coat, and a weal from the lash above an eyebrow. Piers starts searching, dousing fires as he goes.

"G..get back!" a militia guard says, backing up to the door of the school, confronted with two Desians.

"We've got to save him!" Genis says needlessly.

"Stop!" Lloyd shouts, charging in. Piers manages to freeze the blood to their boots, trapping them. Lloyd proceeds to kill them, with Piers and Genis's help, and flicks his swords in a subconscious flick like Kratos's to clean them.

"Thank you, you saved me. I couldn't protect this place myself." the guard says, stepping out of the doorway.

"Is everyone inside the school?" Lloyd asks.

"No. There should still be some people in the village plaza." The guard says. Piers is already running toward it. Lloyd turns.

"Let's go save them!" Genis shouts, quickly eating an orange gel handed to him by the guard, and pockets the Apple.

"Yeah." Lloyd is grim. they head on the right path.

"Our..our house!" Genis spots it in flames. Piers is fighting off a group of about 5 Desians to a certain degree of success.

"Damn those desians!" Lloyd yells, slashing into one.

"This is horrible... What am I going to tell Raine when she gets back?" Genis says around casting. "And this village looked like it might finally be a place we could have called home..." he mutters.

"Huh?" Lloyd shouts, slamming his shoulder into a desian. "What did you say?"

"N..Nothing!" Genis shouts, as Dirk starts attacking Desians. Piers growls, getting a bit too pissed off. He summons forth a giant spike of ice that impales two Desians. Dirk smashes it with a large hammer. "Let's hurry up and get rid of the Desians." Genis continues. at the town gate, a man with teal hair steps forward.

"Lloyd Irving! Come forth!" he shouts.

"You've come to attack again?!" Lloyd almost charges in, but the Desians have the mayor and a few other villagers surrounded, their weapons out and bloodied. "I've had enough of this!" Lloyd shouts. Piers pants, exhausted from the burst of Psynergy. It's a pity Psynergy, like most alchemy, is about equivalent exchange.

"what are you talking about?" a Desian with a staff asks from behind the man with a metal arm.

"He speaks nonsense." that one says, walking forward. "Ignore him." he turns at looks into the village. "Listen up, inferior beings!" his bellow carries well. "I am Forcystus, one of the Five Desian Grand Cardinals. I am a superior half-elf who rules over the farm where we cultivate you pathetic humans!" Piers growls, hurling a weak ice ball at a wounded Desian trying to claw at him.

"...half-elf.." Genis whispers.

"Lloyd!" Forcystus swings his metal arm to point at Lloyd. "You, a human, have been found guilty for the crime of violating the non-aggression treaty. Therefore, I bring Judgment upon you and this village!" Genis stomps, shaking his head.

"You violated the treaty, too! You tried to murder the Chosen!" Forcystus looks at the captain, and then both laugh.

"Wh-What's so funny?!" Piers demands.

"Us? Kill the chosen?" the captain laughs. "I see now. **_They_** must be after the Chosen."

"They?" Lloyd scowls. "Are you saying you aren't the ones that attacked Colette?!"

"I-I don't believe..." Piers sinks to his knees. "Ghk...Too weak...Damn..."

"I have no need to explain myself to the likes of you. The only thing that matters is that you, Lloyd Irving, have been in contact with host body F192 and attacked our guards." Forcy says.

The mayor rounds on Lloyd. "have you done?! How many times have we told you to stay away from the ranch?!" he shouts.

Lloyd hangs his head. "...I'm sorry."

"We've prepared an appropriate opponent for your crime!" Forcystus indicates behind him. A large monster shambles in. it was vaguely humanoid, twice as tall as any there. It's skin was green, veined with yellow and red, one large eye on its face, one hand dragging behind it, a massive claw. a pulsating red gem shone from its right hand, and it wore the remains of a dress of dull brown material. The same that the people at the ranch wore. there was even a metal collar about its neck.

Piers blinks. "What the hell is that?" He manages to get to his feet.

"What.. is that thing?!" Lloyd gapes at it as it shambles forward, standing before Forcystus.

"Now, Receive your punishment!" Forcy swung that metal arm of his, and the creature shambled forward, arm drawing back to swipe at the boy. Lloyd blocks the heavy blow, but the mayor caught a bit of it, and went flying. Piers gets a second burst of strength, rushing in.

"Damn!" Lloyd says, crossing his blades in defense as the creature continues to swing at the boy. When Piers darts in, Lloyd takes the moment to eat an apple gel, and then dart around to the creatures other side.

"Lloyd!" Genis has the ring of casting about him. "I'll help too!" Fireballs start flying from the mage. Piers starts hacking away. the monster's arms rise up and behind its head, moving in the way human joints shouldn't, before crashing into the ground before it, a large early brown-black shockwave rippling out. Lloyd blocks the worst of it with his crossed blades, but it still sends him staggering back, sharp rocks ripping at his clothes.

"Lloyd! It's called Exbelua!" A small crystal lens crumbles from Genis's hands. Piers flows, attacking anything that is exposed. It groans, and then falls to the ground, still. the Desian captain moves back to Forcystus's side.

"Lord Forcystus! Just as you thought, the boy Lloyd has an Exsphere!" Lloyd starts, and notices his wrap has been torn off. he hastily sabotages one of his streamers into one.

"It must be the one from the Angelus Project we've been searching for!" Forcystus says to the captain.

Piers grunts. "You want Lloyd, you'll have to go through me!"

"No, I don't want _Lloyd._" Forcystus says, turning that arm shaped like a board of metal at Lloyd. "I want that Exsphere! Give it to me!"

"No! This is a memento of my mom, who you Desians killed!" Lloyd shouts, making angry gestures and scowling.

"Fool." Forcy's arm opens on the end, four wedges coming out and back, four others dilating in.

Piers runs before Lloyd. "Didn't you hear me, 'superior being?!' Go through me!"

"If you want." Forcy says, and a pale green bolt began forming. A matching glow forms on his other hand. "Turbulence!" the spell fires, and a cone of wind, swirled up around Piers feet, the gusts slashing at the teen. Piers yelps, summoning up his last dregs of strength.

"Diamond Dust!" He fires the band of ice at Forcy. Forcystus smirks, his hand glowing that green again, and with a burst of speed that kicks up the scorched earth in clouds, he darts forward, slamming a swirl of the green light into Piers's gut. Piers is flung back into a building. He's knocked out, wounded badly. Forcystus turns to face Lloyd, and catches the boys blow with his metal limb.

"Just hand it over. You'll die faster that way." Forcystus says.

Lloyd snarls at him. "Never!"

"Very well." Forcy hits him with the same spell, and then fire-balls hit him in the back. "You.." Forcy turns for Genis. "Little brat!" the metal arm swings up and at Genis.

"Genis!" Lloyd shouts, struggling to get up. Piers wakes, managing to attempt to freeze Forcystus' feet to the ground again. The Exbelua stirs as the cardinal swears.

"Fine, I'll take care of you first!" He swings that arm back to Piers, the glowing orb of energy swelling. The Exbelua shuffles up behind him, and wraps arms around the desian as it falls forward.

"W..what..?" Genis asks, moving back once he could.

"Run... away..!" it was a strangled voice, but familiar. "Run.. Away... Genis.. Lloyd, Piers..!"

"M...Marble? It...sounds like..." Piers mutters, horrified.

"it.. can't be!" Lloyd looks stunned.

"Uh...ugh..." the Exbelua struggles to speak. "..Gu... get away... Hurry! Genis... you were like... a grandson to me.." The creature is holding the thrashing cardinal still, he can't hit it with his arm or magic. It starts glowing a vivid white. "Thank you... Goodbye..." It blows up, and after the smoke clears, Forcystus falls to his knees, unconscious. Piers also collapses, knocked out. A small stone, blood red that was cooling into a purple-blue falls from the sky near Genis.

"L..Lord Forcystus!" The Desians leave off terrorizing the villagers to surround their smoking leader. Genis picks up the rock as it turns a nice blue.

"...Lloyd." The captain snarls. "We will always come after you, as long as you possess that Exsphere. Always!" the Desians hurriedly retreat. Genis stares at the perfectly round gem in his hand, lit with its own light, as rain begins to fall.

"M..Marble..." he whispers, then falls to his knees as Lloyd grabs his dropped weapon, and moves to check on Piers. "Marble!! No!" the boy screams, holding the gem.

Piers grunts, roused by the rain. "Wha'..? Ow...my head..."

"What have you done!?" The mayor stomps over, ignoring the fact he might be dead if Lloyd hadn't been standing in front of him. the other villagers formed a small, battered mob behind them. Only Phaidra and Frank weren't part of it. "Look! Look what happened to our village!" the stocky man indicates the ruined buildings, then points at Lloyd, who had just wiped off his swords and sheathed them. Piers gets to his feet, groaning. Dirk returns to join the teens, even as Lloyd mutely helps Genis stand. "It's all your fault!"

Lloyd flinches at the mayors words, but says nothing other than a muttered, depressed "I'm sorry."

"You think you can fix this by apologizing?!" The mayor roars. "The Desians marked you as their enemy! As long as you are here, this village will never be at peace! Do you understand?"

"Stop shouting, or I'll freeze your lips together." Piers wasn't joking. Genis's eyes widen, reading into the Mayor's words.

"Wait a minute!" He darts in front of Lloyd, spreading his arms out, although one was clenched with the Exsphere in its grasp. "You're going to exile him?!" The mayor glared at Piers, but didn't shout the word.

"Yes."

"That's not fair!" Genis stomps his foot. "Lloyd didn't do anything wrong! He just saved Marble.."

Piers growls. "Didn't those Desians seem surprised that we accused them of attacking Colette?"

"Any involvement with the ranch is forbidden. There are no exceptions." The mayor continues in that low, solemn voice.

Genis grits his teeth, then snaps back. "So it's okay to let people die at the human ranch as long as the village is safe?!"

"The people at the ranch are just going to rot there, anyway." One of the villagers said.

"Yes." the Mayor nods.

"This is why I was leaving." Piers mutters.

"Had you not done something so stupid, they'd have been the only ones that died." The mayor continues. Genis stares in startled horror, as Lloyd remains unresponsive, staring at the ground a few feet from his feet.

"You.. you humans are all the same." Genis mutters bitterly, dropping his arms into fists at his side. Lloyd looks at him, and places a hand on his shoulder.

"That's enough, Genis."

"Torture...Its worse to ignore it." Piers says

"That's enough." Lloyd repeats. Lloyd's voice wasn't excited, enthusiastic, or even angry or bitter.. dull was the only thing to describe it. "This was my fault." he takes a few steps forward. "I'll leave." he tells the mayor, his face blank. Piers growls, glaring at the mayor.

"Mayor.." Another villager starts. "Surely you don't have to be so strict on a child.."

"What are you saying!" Another pipes up, angry. "Do you realize how many people died here because of him?!" Genis clenches his teeth.

"It's not Lloyd's fault! I'm the one that took him to the ranch. So it's my fault!" Genis protests.

"But it's Lloyd the Desians are after." the Mayor replies.

"For a stone?!" Piers asks, startled and angry.

The man glares at Piers. "And besides, Lloyd isn't from this village to begin with. He's an outsider, raised by a dwarf." So it's really just banning him from entering the village, he tells himself.

"Then I'm leaving, too. I'm just as guilty as he is!" Genis shouts, angry. Some mana flicks visibly around him, but he's too exhausted to do anything with it.

"Genis..." Lloyd breaths, glancing down at his friend.

"And I helped. I'm going too." Piers steps up.

"See how well you repair your buildings without my help." Dirk says, setting the hammer's head into the mud. "Since you object to him being raised by me and all." The mayor looks over them all.

"Fine then." Even as some of the villagers mutter about repairing their homes without Dirk's craftsmanship.

Piers grunts, smirking at their new predicament. He tries to walk, yelping in pain. "O-Ow...my leg..."

"By the rights vested in me as Mayor, I hereby announce the banishment of Lloyd, Genis, Piers and Dirk from the village of Iselia. Get out." The mayor turns and walks off, and most of the crowd does as well. Phaidra and Frank come up.

"Sorry.." Frank says. "Let me help." It takes a few moments, but a little bit of healing magic flickers around Piers's leg.

"Oh...could you fix my left arm, too? I just realized its broken." Piers says. Frank looks a little ashen now, but he gives a slight 'Colette smile', and shakes his head.

"I don't have enough skill for two healings of that size in a day. I can set it though."

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble." Lloyd says softly, still rather dull.

"If you feel that way, please catch up to the Chosen and protect her." Phaidra says.

"No...I'll just wait until I have enough power to Ply it...I'll put it in a sling..." Piers politely refuses the offer.

"If in doing so, the world is saved, surely everyone will change their minds about you." Phaidra continues. Frank nods, and then turns to Lloyd and Genis.

"For I'm sure Colette would want that as well." he says.

"..yes." Some life was returning to Lloyd, although his brown eyes were still dark. "I will atone for what I've done." his voice gained strength.

"You've nothing to atone for. You aided the helpless." Piers says, watching Lloyd.

"I swear to protect Colette for the sake of those who have died because of me." Lloyd says, making a fist.

"... I'll follow you, Lloyd." Genis says. "It's my fault that you were banished. So I promise to stick by you, always."

"Don't forget me. I had a hand in this. Besides, journeys are made for travelers like me." Piers says with a smile, only a little false by the events.

"thanks.." Lloyd says, softly, before spotting Genis looking at the small crystal. "Say, Genis. Why don't you use that Exsphere? That's Marble's memento." Genis glances from his friend to the gem.

"...Ok."

"Here." Lloyd squats down to Genis's level, taking an object out of his pocket. Lloyd presses a small sun-ray styled piece of metal to the back of Genis's hand, then the gem to the back of that.

"Marble saved me...Saved all of us...Keep that memory alive." Piers murmurs.

"Yeah." Genis says, after a light shiver, and the gem winks at them.

"I'll explain how to use the Key Crest later." Lloyd stands with a wince, and takes the Apple Gel Frank offers. "After all," he says, eating it. "It looks like it's going to be a long journey."

"... Yeah.." Genis says, grimacing at the rain. Noishe whined at them from the gate, only a few paces behind them.

Piers takes his bag from where he left it. "Lucky I packed, eh?"

"Yeah." Lloyd agrees. Dirk had already headed off, muttering about 'damn desians better not have touched my house.' "Let's go, Noishe."

"... Don't throw your lives away." Phaidra says suddenly, worried.

"May the Goddess Martel protect you." Frank says.

"Don't worry. We'll be fine." He hefts the pack, wincing as he hurts his broken arm. Lloyd leads the way out in the rain, Noishe falling in with them. it was late afternoon, and they were obviously all tired. Wolves, the occasional hawk, those where the few monsters out that day.

* * *

yeah. -


	4. From the Ashes

Lloyd leads the way into a forest, and after a little bit of wandering in the twilight, they come across a small caravan. Small meaning one wagon.

"Who's there?" a woman asks.

"Uh... Hi?" Lloyd steps out, Genis following.

"Are you on a pilgrimage?" she asks, startled.

"Um.. yeah." Lloyd pulls out his grin, although it looked a little pale compared to the normal one. "You could say that.."

Piers steps forward. "We ARE on a pilgrimage. We're following the Chosen on the journey."

"I see." the woman looks them over. "I'm Mary. You can stay here for the night."

"Really?" Lloyd asks, shocked. "Thanks, ma'am!"

"Yeah! Thank you." Piers says.

"Don't worry about it." She goes into the wagon and comes out with three bedrolls, and a basket of bandages and other medicines. "Here, let me patch you up first."

* * *

August 30th

* * *

Lloyd yawns as they set out on the road at dawn, waving goodbye to Mary. "That was nice." they even had bed-rolls now, for Lloyd and Genis. Noishe barks.

"Huh?" Lloyd turns around while walking. "What is it? What's that in your mouth?" Lloyd asks the 'dog'.

"Look, your bag is open." Genis points out. "You probably dropped it yourself." Piers face palms.

"Oh. Thanks Noishe. Let's see..." Lloyd takes the only slightly slobbery item from Noishe. "It's... a letter from Dad."

"From Dirk?" Genis asks.

"Yeah. I wonder what's written in it." Lloyd spins around to walk normally.

Piers scritches Noishe behind his ears. "Lloyd would forget his head if it wasn't bolted on." He whispers to the animal. "And he's STILL forgot to close his pack." Lloyd hears this, and closes his pack with a scowl for all of a half-second.

"Dear Lloyd,

Did you read the Traveler's Guide? It has the seven most well-known Dwarven Vows as well as knowledge necessary for your journey written in it. Make use of this information and be sure to protect Colette. 14 years have passed since I found you and started raising you. You were still barely able to walk. I remember how you were scared of me and always crying. Something about bears... And now, you've grown into a strong swordsman. I'm grateful for you calling me, a non-human, your father. Someday, when you are a full-grown man, I'll have a gift for you. Keep that in mind as something to look forward to as you go out there and fight."

Lloyd reads the letter. Piers is still having a conversation with Noishe. A rather one-sided one, but man that dog's face is expressive.

"...dad." Lloyd spots something lower on the letter. "P.S. It's not written in the Traveler's Guide, so I'll write here about how to use EX Gems. Read it carefully and reference it as needed." Piers goes silent, stroking Noishe.

"... so that's what that book was." Lloyd says, opening his pack and putting the letter in. And this time, with a slight scowl at Piers, he closes it.

Piers blinks. "What. Noishe is good company. I like a challenge and he understands me." Lloyd makes a face.

There were only a few battles that day, again hawks and wolves, although a rabbit attacked them as well.

"... Crap." Lloyd goes through his packs. "... we don't have water." he holds out empty water-skins/canteens.

Piers closes his eyes. "I can still sense water...A lake or stream is nearby..."

Genis, having already started the fire, shakes his head, and pulls out hte map. "I think we're about here." he points at a spot. "so, yeah, there's a lake just a little way..." he looks up, and points. "That way."

"Ok!" Lloyd gets up, grabbing the handful of water-skins. "Noishe, stay here with Genis. Piers and I will get the water."

"Right. Be back in a few." Piers starts leading the way. Lloyd follows, smiling a little.

"I think I see it." Lloyd starts past Piers. They make it to the shore and start filling the water skins. Piers looks up.

"Uh...Lloyd...Something big is coming..."

"Huh?" Lloyd asks, sitting up completely, and then putting the water skin down, hands on hilts.

"C'mon. Lets hide. It's probably just coming for a drink." He heads for a large tree. Lloyd nods, following Piers with one water skin in hand. He climbs the tree. Piers watches from the base. A large, golden-brown animal emerges from the trees on the opposite shore. It heads to the lake, dipping its muzzle into the water, lapping at it like a kitten to milk. Lloyd stares.

"One big cat." Lloyd whispers, clinging to his branch. Suddenly the lion glows white, forming a very big man. He was wearing a white bandanna on his head, his long, golden-brown hair tied back in a ponytail. He wore a white and brown striped tunic, brown pants and black boots. His eyes had human irises but were still golden.

"No way...A laguz? I thought they were legends." Piers whispers.

"A whut? It's not a big cat?" Lloyd whispers, shocked.

"Shapeshifters." Piers mutters. The man notices the water skins and freezes, tensing.

"Anyone there?" He growls. His voice was powerful, curious, wary and with a hint of growl. "Show yourselves!" Lloyd freezes, and notices those water skins too. and the fact that he didn't have as good a grip as he thought he did on his tree branch – having a water skin in one hand might do that...

"Crap." his streamers don't entangle him, fortunately, but he misses a grab for a lower branch and falls out of the tree. The man jumps back. Piers growls, coming from behind the tree.

"Wait! We don't want to hurt you." Piers says.

"But you're Beorc...and armed..."

"Huh?" Lloyd says, from his back on the ground. "We just needed water. What's a bear-ork?"

Piers explains. "Beorc is human."

"Take your water, then. I'll have nothing more to do with humans...Not since the last time."

"... why not just call them human?" Lloyd asks, flipping into a squat, without getting his legs tangled in his sheaths or stepping on his streamers. he seems pleased he pulled that off, and picks up his water skin. "Having two names for one thing makes things confusing."

"Human is their slave name for their Beorc masters."

"Huh?" Lloyd asks, confused. "Slave-name..?" His eyes widened. "No way! Someone would keep somebody as cool as a shape shifter as a slave?! Like a ranch?" sure, he sounded slightly smart there, for a second...

"Not really. More like private slaves. Laguz are powerful, they can do things beorc can't. So...They're enslaved. Seen as inferior beings...Sub-human." The man, who has his back to the two, seems to flinch at the last phrase.

"That's stupid." Lloyd shoves his hands into his pockets.

"I can't imagine what he must have lived through..." Piers stares at the man's broad back.

"And he probably shouldn't have, too." Lloyd says, scowling. "even if he can turn into a big cat, he can still walk on two feet, has a face where the rest of us have a face, even hands like a regular human." Lloyd says, crossing his arms behind his head. "So, he's human. It doesn't matter about the rest, he's just awesome in a different way that most people can't be." he realizes where the water skins are. "... Can I have our water skins?" The man looks down, scooping them up and tossing them at Lloyd. Lloyd yelps, and catches them. The man's eyes linger on Piers.

"You...You're an alchemist." The large man points out.

"Uh..." Piers says.

"...? He's a mage." Lloyd says, looking confused as he figures out how to carry all these water skins. He starts fiddling with his belt.

"I was told a prophecy...'The lighthouses lights are waning. The halves must be joined.' She told me to tell an adept. You are one." The large man ignores Lloyd.

"Yes..." Piers says.

"Huh...?" Lloyd asks, having secured all the water skins. "The journey of world regeneration is starting, but what's this about halves?"

"I don't know what it means." The big guy shrugs. Piers is lost in thought.

"We could ask Colette. Or the Professor." Lloyd says. "She's smart, she might get it." his eyes widen. "... Crap! Genis!"

"I know what it means..." Piers looks up at the laguz. "Thanks."

"No problem. I best go hunt...You guys scared all the prey away and I have nothing left."

"We have stew." Lloyd looks at the water bottles. "Or will have. We have to cook it first."

The man blinks. "A-Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Lloyd rubs the back of his head, grinning in that disarming way of his. "Noishe might freak out if you ... uh.. turn into that big cat. He's a little jumpy, but I'm sure it'll be fine." Lloyd laughs a bit. "He glared at Dad like crazy for a while too. Dad thinks it's cause I used to call him a bear."

"R-Right...I'm Shikka.."

"Piers."

"Lloyd Irving." Lloyd looks unsure if he should offer his hand or not. But he also remembers having left Genis and Noishe at the camp, and that Genis is a mage, completely capable of fire-balling him.

* * *

"Geeeniiss~! We got the water!" Lloyd says, holding a pair of the water skins. Noishe jumps him. "GAH! GERROF!"

"Lloyd! You took forever!" Genis says, getting up and taking some of the water skins. He pauses, spotting Shikka. "Who're you? You're reeeaaallly tall."

Shikka stays away from the fire. "Um...My name's Shikka.."

Lloyd manages to get Noishe off him. "He's really cool! He can turn into a big cat! Bigger than Noishe!"

"Really?" Genis's eyes go wide, but he still isn't completely sure of his friend. "You sure this isn't like the one time you thought you had wings and jumped off the roof of the school?"

"Huh? No, it isn't! He was a cat for a bit!"

"Really, Piers? Awesome!"

"Uh, yeah. His kind can turn into animals." Shikka is tensed, ready to run, as if expecting slavers to pounce from the trees.

"That's awesome!" Genis says, looking like an actual 12 year old for once.

"Isn't it!" Lloyd says, grinning.

"Can I see?" Genis comes over, completely forgetting the food. Lloyd hasn't, and with a light bulb, he starts making beef stew. "That's soo cool! So you're not human, is that it? It's still really cool, I've never read of something like that! I'm an Elf, but that sounds cooler!" Shikka blinks, puzzled at the whole curiosity thing, not sure what to say. Genis tilts his head, having to look waaay up to see Shikka's face. "Wow, you're really tall! Does all that muscle come from having a feline-form? I know that cats have more muscle, and more muscle control than humans do, but do they have that much of an effect on a body? Are you really bigger than Noishe while a cat?" Noishe is behind Lloyd, trying to get his muzzle into the pot. Shikka can't really get a word in edgeways. Genis is asking too many questions.

"Stews done." Lloyd waves. "Here." He quickly scoops out a bowl, and passes it to Shikka. "Noishe'll try to eat it if we don't." Genis was sufficiently distracted with food, the way only growing boys could be. Lloyd passes Piers one too. They both sit down to eat. Shikka sits a bit away from the fire. Noishe peers at him with his dark brown eyes. He's curious. Lloyd and Genis are more interested in stuffing their faces. Shikka keeps glancing at the creature. Noishe is definitely studying him, not watching him with the 'pet me, I luv you' eyes most dogs have. Shikka squirms slightly, feeling uncomfortable. Noishe turns to Lloyd, and whines, with a muxture of barks and yips that made it sound like a sentence. Lloyd cocks his head at Noishe, spoon in his mouth. Noishe also has some nice fangs on him...

"Noishe says you're definitely a cat. Not a dog." Lloyd says.

"Eheheh...He's a dog...?"

"Yep." Lloyd says, and Noishe barks, but the set of his muzzle is that of a smile. "He doesn't chase cats, though. He just.. is a dog." Lloyd nods.

"Uh...right." Shikka holds out a hand. "Nice doggie." Noishe eyes his hand, then pads over, and sniffs. He sneezes, then eyes him some more. Noishe eyes his bowl of food too, but decides not to do anything else, and sits next to Lloyd, in a strange, protective way. He also steals Lloyd's next bite of stew. Once fed, Genis was rather tired, and immediately made his bed and fell asleep.

"Thanks." Lloyd says, to Shikka. "He's still a bit depressed." (OMG, Lloyd notices things!)

"Depressed?" Shikka asks.

"Yeah." Lloyd says, looking at his rather crappily mended clothes. "We were kicked out of our village yesterday. And one of his friends died." Noishe buts his head under Lloyds hand, and Lloyd pulls his grin back on. "It's all my fault, really, but he didn't think so... so we're both exiled."

"Ah..."

"Yeah." Lloyd says, scritching Noishe's head, behind those large ears where the dog couldn't reach. "so, the distractions good, right?" Lloyd's still grinning, but it looks a bit forced. he then yawns. "..... do we need to set a watch?" he asks, blinking.

"I doubt it. I should be enough to scare anything away." Shikka says.

"Good..." Lloyd says, yawning. "cause I'm tired." he pulls out his bed-rolls, and flops down next to Noishe. "w..wait.." he sits up. "You need a blanket?" he asks sleepily.

"No... I'm fine, thanks." Shikka replies.

"m'k.." Lloyd flops back onto Noishe, who makes a short whine like noise of complaint, and then Lloyd is out like a light.

* * *

August 31st

* * *

Genis wakes first, and starts the fire with a flint and steel, then pulls out a pot. Lloyd wakes with a twitch at the smell of oatmeal.

"Food." Lloyd zombies. Shikka is curled up against a tree like a cat in a ray of early sunlight. Lloyd doesn't notice anything but his bowl until he's cleaned it twice, and then he realizes other people might want food. Getting a pair of bowls, he moves to see if either Piers or Shikka are awake. Genis takes this time to eat. Piers has been awake since dawn.

"Here. This was going to be my going away present." He hands a package to Lloyd. Lloyd swaps it for a bowl, balancing the other in a palm as he looks at the package.

"Ok..?" He struggles to open it one handed, but does manage without spilling oatmeal over himself.

"It's a dagger. Forged by Sunshine of Yallam. It'll never dull or break." Piers explains his gift.

"Cool." Lloyd says, opening it, sliding it from the sheath and looking at the dagger in the light. "I don't know how to use daggers, unless they're for carving, but thanks."

"It might save your life." Shikka sits up, yawning.

"Yeah. Un-breakable, eh?" Lloyd re-sheaths it and slips it into his shoe, and then offers the bowl of oatmeal to Shikka.

"Thanks..." He eats silently. Lloyd goes back for thirds, and once the pot is cleaned, they pack up.

"South some more?" Lloyd asks, settling a pack on his back.

"Yes. We should be able to rest at the House of Salvation tonight." Genis says, folding up the map.

"House of Salvation?" Piers asks. Genis glances over at him.

"It's a house for pilgrims." Genis explains. "Since we told Mary that we are, we might as well stick with it. The Chosen can use them too, but it's really just a house in the middle of nowhere, with a kitchen, and beds, along with an altar for pray."

"But beds." Lloyd says, nodding. "They have Beds."

"Ah." Piers glances at Shikka who is still eating quietly. Lloyd looks a bit confused, but Genis gets it.

"Shikka, do you want to come with us?" Genis asks. "We're going to meet up with some friends-"

"-and someone who's not a friend.." Lloyd ads, thinking of Kratos.

"Seriously, Lloyd, the guy's creepy, but that doesn't make him bad." Genis says, looking a bit irritated.

"I...I'll stick with Piers..." Shikka says.

"Great!" Lloyd says.

"We need to get the most out of the day, from here to the House of salvation is a bit more than we traveled yesterday." Genis says. "And depending on how many monsters we run into, we'll go even slower.." So they finish tiding up the camp sight, washing the pot and bowls used, and head out for the road again. Since the day is not-so-great, but not rainy either, they make good time. only two small packs of wolves attack, and a little into night they reach the small domed house which Genis calls a House of Salvation.

Piers examines the building. "Impressive." It's a two story building, with a crossroads, a laundry-hanging rack, a pond, a dog, and a man by the crossroads. It's fairly late. Heading in, there's an altar, a priest up, and stairs to the second story. Lloyd and Genis make their weary way up for the stairs. Piers explores a bit and Shikka follows the two upstairs. there's a small kitchen to the right, and a few beds upstairs. a older woman smiles at them.

"a total of 10 Gald for the night dearies." she smiles. Piers eventually joins them. After paying the lady, Lloyd takes off his jacket, boots, gloves, and belts with their blades, and plops down on one of four beds. he wears a loose black tank top.

"What's tomorrow?" Lloyd asks Genis.

"We'll reach the desert around ... noon." Genis yawns, unfolding the map on a night-stand, and shucking the jacket-top and shoes he wore. Piers removes his boots and traveling cloak. Shikka takes off his boots and shirt. His muscled torso is decorated with scars. Lloyd stares for a moment, before deeming it rude, and then lying back on his bed.

"Goodnight." the old woman says, and leaves the room.

"... Desert are hot, aren't they?" Lloyd asks sleepily.

"Very." Piers replies. "We'd better get enough water here."

"mm... ok.." Lloyd is already incoherent, and Genis already asleep. Piers and Shikka quickly slip off to sleep as well.

* * *

September 1st

* * *

Light comes through a rough-glass window in early dawn. Lloyd rolls over, trying to find the sheet he had kicked off during the night. Shikka wakes, sitting and stretching. He runs a hand over a thick scar. Lloyd can't find it, and rolls over with a groan to blink at the light. Genis isn't in his bed, and its already made up. of course, the smells of cooking could have something to do with that. Lloyd sits up, rubbing his eyes. "smell food." he mutters, sleepily getting up, putting his shoes on the wrong foot, belts on correctly, and holding his jacket and gloves. he trips over his feet with a muted yelp.

Shikka shakes his head. "Are all Beorc as helpless?" Lloyd's reply is a grumble as he puts his shoes back on correctly, then manages to make it down the stairs without tripping. Shikka chuckles, waking Piers up. Lloyd sits down heavily, with a groan, and Genis comes up.

"Coffee and pancakes." Lloyd latches onto the coffee first, then inhales a few pancakes. Genis shakes his head. Piers and Shikka soon appear. Genis grins at them. "Lloyd isn't that great of a morning person." He passes out plates with pancakes.

Piers pokes Lloyd's arm. "So we gathered." Lloyd mutters something into his coffee mug, then takes a biiig drink.

"Watch out, in another half hour, he's going to hyper." Genis warns.

"Joy. Just what we need." Piers mutters to a pancake. Lloyd is awake enough to function, and to be full. he cleans off his plate, which was the House's, and then goes upstairs to pack.

"We'll be on the road, so hopefully he can be distracted by monsters, but..." Genis shrugs. Piers sighs. Genis finishes up, then helps Lloyd pack. it doesn't take the two boys long, they didn't unpack much anyway. They're shortly ready to go. Piers didn't unpack a thing and Shikka has nothing to pack. The boys come back down, and Lloyd's looking a bit more awake now, fully dressed, although he hasn't put the white-wrap back around his left hand since the burning of Iselia. Piers hefts his pack onto his good shoulder. They head outside. Some old traveler stood by a rock at the crossroad.

"Wait," Genis stops for a second. ".. lets make sure Colette came this way." He runs up to the old traveler peep. "Hey, did co.. the Chosen of Mana pass this way?"

"Chosen of Mana?" the man says. "I didn't see her myself, but I heard she went through this way. On her way to Triet."

"Thanks!" Genis says, darting back.

"Through the desert it is..." Shikka mumbles. The big man has barely said anything at all. Genis nods.

"Let's make sure to fill everything we can with water now." This includes the pots they can cover, and the cups as well. They do so, and all head out. They're attacked by two packs of wolves and a pair of rabbits with a hawk, before the grasslands gives way to desert.


	5. Sand in my Pants

short chapter this time, because 30-pages is a bit much. i split it up this time -

i own nothing! Nothing!

do ireally have to repeat htis for all of you? -_-

* * *

Noishe wakes Lloyd with a lick to the face, whining at the teen. It was dark out now, and very cold.

"I dunno which is worse. The heat or the cold." Piers mutters, waking. Lloyd is wide awake very quickly this time.

"Damn its cold!" Lloyd chatters, getting up and out of the other's way quickly, rubbing his arms. Genis agrees, and they both move and hug Noishe for warmth while waiting for Piers and Shikka, so they can take down their lean-to. The two emerge.

"I could shift for warmth, if you want." Shikka offers.

"I-i th-think we'll get-t-t war-r-m enough w-w-w-alking." Genis says, as Lloyd detaches himself from Noishe to start walking in circles, and then enthusiastically tear down the lean-to. He stops shivering shortly after he finished with that.

"Told ya it was cold." Piers said smugly.

"Would you rather be baking?" Genis asks, still stuttering, but Noishe is herding him ahead. "I'd rather be freezing..." Lloyd takes their bundled up lean-to, and starts deeper into the desert.

"C'mon!" He's getting a bit cold again, rubbing his arms. "Let's get moving! Warmer!"

Piers chuckles to himself, starting to take the moisture in the air to slowly regain his strength. The only monsters they find are the ones they stumble across, the rest sleeping like Genis had thought.

* * *

September 2nd

* * *

Before dawn, Genis and Noishe find a good dune to make another lean-to in, and then they proceed to do so. Piers and Shikka bed down first. And the two younger teens follow, and Noishe curls in the entrance, his small brown eyes keen, despite the layer of sand clinging to him. Soon after dawn, a figure can be seen stumbling across the dunes. The way he was walking seemed like he was injured. He nears, and then suddenly collapses not far from where the teens and Laguz were resting. He was dressed in Desian armor. Noishe stands, hackles rising, and barks, snarling at the collapsed figure. When it doesn't move, Noishe's noises slow, and he moves to sniff. The Desian's right leg seems injured, lying face down in the sand. His helm was still on, protecting his eyes and nose from the sand. His breathing was weak and shallow.

"..What is it..?" Lloyd groans, rolling over at Noishe's absence. Noishe turns and whines at Lloyd, eyeing the Desian. "Huh? Someone..?" Lloyd sits up. "Noishe, why is there a Desian there...?" Noishe whines at Lloyd, and Lloyd gets up, wincing at the rising heat as he leaves the lean-to, scrubbing some sand out of his hair. "..." he frowns, glaring a little at the Desian. It was wrong, something inside him said, to kill the man while he was unconscious. That and the armor coloring was unfamiliar. "..." Lloyd scowls. Desians had killed his mother. But this one was injured... "Ah, hell."

Shikka blinks, walking up. "What is it?"

"A Desian." Lloyd says. "And they're the people who killed my mother, and burnt Iselia." Lloyd looks irritated with his moral conflict. "But this one is injured. So, it wouldn't be... right, to just kill him." He walks over, and nudges the man with a foot. The man stirs, groaning. Seems he was still out for now. Shikka kneels by the man.

Lloyd grimaces. "I just don't know what to do." he shoves his hands into his pockets.

"He's hurt. We'd be as bad as him if we left him to die." Shikka says.

Lloyd frowns. "What if he tries to kill us after he gets better?" Noishe whines, although whether in agreement or not is unsure. He's still watching the Desian.

"He'll have to fight through me." Shikka unbuckles the man's axe belt. "This seems expensive. Is he a high rank?"

Lloyd shrugs. "I've only seen regular Desians, a weird 'Lord Botta' guy in a dress, a Desian with a staff and some decorations on his helmet in gold, and one Grand Cardinal. That Forcystus guy wore some weird clothes, but this... is the regular Desian armor. Different colors, but regular armor." Lloyd still looks uncomfortable, but the early morning heat is sapping his strength rapidly.

"What do we do, then? Leave him?" Shikka shifts the ax in his hands.

Lloyd makes a face. "Part of me wants to, part of me doesn't, and a third part just wants to kill him, and leave it at that." (That part sounds suspiciously like Kratos, but the boy doesn't realize that yet.) Lloyd shifts to look at their lean-to. "... We can put him under the lean-to, if there's room." he sighs, sticking his hands in his pockets with a scowl.

"He's about as big as me. I'll just stay in the sun. I like it. Watch his leg. It's broken. I'm amazed he's got this far." Shikka says. Lloyd looks a little appalled that anyone would like this incredible heat, but he and Noishe start moving the unconscious Desian back to their lean-to, and leave him at the edge. Noishe whines, eyeing the man. He sniffs, and then curls up.

"Yeah... Shikka? More monsters might come by, if there's blood on him... so watch out." Lloyd's already sleepy by this point. "Sit on him if he moves." Noishe nods.

Shikka nods. "No problem." Lloyd waves a yawned good 'night' and is promptly asleep.

"Lloyd..." Genis stirs, rolling partially onto his teen friend. "Why is Noishe sitting partially on an unconscious Desian?" He's very calm about asking it, but his Exsphere is flickering. The man grunts, starting to wake up with the cool air.

"We found him." Shikka points to the bloodstain.

"A semi-conscious Desian." Genis corrects himself. Lloyd blinks blearily; he must have gotten some bad sleep.

"And... it wasn't right to kill him there, or leave him... even if he is a Desian..." Lloyd doesn't sound happy with his decision.

Piers jolts awake. "Who?" He blinks at the Desian, yelping and grabbing for his sword.

"Noishe, sit on Piers." Lloyd says, still on his back and frowning. Noishe looks at Piers, very much telling him that he will, if Piers doesn't calm down. "If he tries to attack us, then you can attack him..." Genis blinks at Lloyd, as if he's unsure his friend, whose mother, and possibly father, were killed by Desians, was saying this.

"..."

"It isn't right, somehow, to kill him right now." Lloyd says.

Piers stares at the Desian. "What's up with the soldier?"

"Noishe found him." Lloyd says, finally sitting up, and indicating the bloodstain. "Over there."

"And long story short, Lloyd didn't feel right leaving him there, or killing him, so he's right here." Genis repeats for the older teen.

"... Yeah." Lloyd mutters. "... we really need to get going though."

"I could zap him awake." Piers offers.

"Or we could poke him with a stick." Genis offers.

"We have sticks?" Lloyd asks, confused as he pulls out the dry-edibles.

".. Lloyd, your swords are made out of wood." Genis face-palms.

"... oh." Lloyd wisely shuts up.

"Your choice." Piers shrugs. Lloyd glances at the Desian, slowly gnawing his way through a piece of jerky.

"...." Lloyd nudges the man's non injured leg with one of his own.

"... or we have Noishe sit on **him**...." Genis adds, looking at the 'dog'.

".. I think that'd hurt him. And he's hurt enough." Lloyd doesn't like his morals, especially when they are trying to help Desians. "... Zap him, if he doesn't wake up soon. We need to keep moving." As if awoken by the boy's words, the man gasps awake, trying to sit up. Lloyd backpedals, nearly drawing one of his swords, wielding a strip of jerky in his other hand. Genis darts to the other side, Exsphere flickering and Kendama ready to be put to use. Noishe whines, watching Piers and the Desian. Piers just watches. The man blinks, seemingly unaware of the other people... Until he notices Lloyd. He quickly backpedals also, wincing at the pain of his leg. Lloyd watches for a moment, and then flinches, looking irritated with himself, and shoves the jerky in the back of his right glove.

"... You're injured." Lloyd says, rather monotone. "You shouldn't be moving."

"Y-You're Lloyd Irving..." The man stammers, tensed, ready to run. To an extent.

"Yeah." Lloyd says. "I Am." he hooks his thumbs in his belts. ".. What of it?" Genis seems to be thinking on bopping the man on the head with the ball of the Kendama. Noishe is more interested in the jerky Lloyd had stashed, if he could just get his teeth that far into the boy's glove...

"W-What am I...?" The man winces, holding his head as he has a headache, too. "What do you want? Why did you save me?"

Lloyd scowls. "... Because even if you're a Desian, it wasn't right to leave you to die in the damn desert, or kill you on the spot. So says the little voice inside my head. The other wanted to kill you." Lloyd crosses his arms, irritated with repeating himself. "I liked the nicer voice for some reason."

"Because Lloyd is just like that." Genis sighs.

"Well... I thought humans would kill me on sight... I was brought up thinking that humans hated us. And elves, too..." The man doesn't look like he wants to flee now. As much.

"I don't care." Lloyd says. "It's now what you are, it's who you are. For the most part, all Desians I've met have been bastards. Granted, that is a total of...13, not counting you." Lloyd says shortly. "But the Sages are Elves, and while the Professor is scary, both she and Genis are cool." Lloyd nods, making his speech.

"Well, you not killing me has f-...messed up my entire opinion of humans... And elves." The man fixes his swearing before he says it. Genis and Lloyd look a little curious at what he had been saying before he corrected himself. Noishe managed to snag the jerky from Lloyd's glove, and scarf's it down before the teen can get it back.

"Dammit, Noishe, that was my breakfast." Lloyd seems relieved to not continue that conversation. The man fiddles with a fastening on his boot. Piers just watches him.

"You have an Aqua element." Piers points out.

"Mm?" the man asks. Genis turns his attention to this conversation, curious. Lloyd is chasing Noishe about, a bit of lighthearted play, and then they set to tearing down the lean-to.

"You have a water attribute." Piers clarifies.

"Who are you? The attribute fairy? Yeah. I can cast Aqua. What of it?" The man asks defensively.

"..." Genis watches back and forth.

"Well." Lloyd says, watching them a bit confused. "I'm ready to go, before I freeze completely. We should be able to reach... a good camp spot before dawn." Lloyd is still a little wary about the Desian.

"Yeah. What about me?" the Desian asks.

"Dunno." Lloyd shrugs, shifting from foot to foot.

"The little voices have shut up." Genis says knowingly of Lloyd, and Lloyd makes a face at Genis.

"I could come with." The Desian offers. Genis and Lloyd look a little iffy on that.

".. Don't you Desians hate humans?" Genis asks.

"And the Chosen?" Lloyd asks before Genis can tell him to shut up.

"Chosen? Another been made, eh? And you've changed my opinion, kid." He smirks. Lloyd doesn't completely get it. Genis's teeth are starting to chatter, and Noishe walks over to put his head on Genis's.

"I think we should get moving..." Lloyd mutters.

Piers smirks. "Well, well. We have a traitor here." Noishe gives a warning growl, eyeing Piers. He remembers what Lloyd told him to do earlier.

"Let's... just get moving. I'm gunna freeze." Lloyd says, despite the fact that Genis is wearing the t-shirt and shorts. Genis nods, and after picking up the lean-to, Lloyd starts walking.

"Left more, Lloyd." Genis corrects him. The Desian gets to his feet. He stumbles, but Shikka catches him.

That's right. Injured leg." Lloyd and Genis have turned around to look at the man. "... and only Piers can heal... and he's low on Mana." Lloyd muses.

"And apple Gels suck for healing breaks." Genis continues.

".. Crap." Lloyd mutters.

"I have a spark. Enough to Ply. My arm doesn't stop me traveling. His leg does." Piers points out.

"True." Genis says. "And Raine can heal." Lloyd brightens.

"So once we meet up with Colette and Raine and... Then we'll all be able to be healed!" Lloyd says, pleased, once he left someone's name out.

"As soon as I get anywhere near a patch of pure water, my magic will be restored." He kneels by the man's leg, casting Ply. The man blinks at the aura.

"That's no magic I've seen before..."

"It's cool magic." Lloyd says. Genis glares. "You're too." he hastily re-assures the mage. "But its freezing." Lloyd changes the subject. "Moving, now, please." Lloyd starts walking. The man follows behind Shikka, who has his axe. You can almost see the exclamation mark above Lloyd's head as he turns around, walking backwards.

"You know me. I'm Lloyd." he indicates Genis. "This is Genis."

"Piers."

"Shikka."

"I'm Daichi Misawa. Unless you want my ex title."

"Ex...?" Lloyd asks, confused.

"Yeah. I got formally discharged. Which explains the near death-ness." Daichi says.

"... So they kicked you out, after beating you severely?" Genis asks, a bit horrified. Lloyd's turned to take down a scorpion that had been sleeping. Maybe he's burning off some anger.

"Yup. I let a prisoner go free." Daichi admits.

"I like you more now." Lloyd says, glancing back.

Daichi chuckles. "It was getting to me. All those people..." Lloyd makes a non-committal noise, darting over to beat some poor poisonous snake to death with his wooden swords.

"You know what's weird?" Lloyd asks, coming back.

"What?" Piers looks up.

"I find Gald on monsters." Lloyd is wiping some of the coinage clean with the cloth he uses for his swords. We can't call them blades, they have none.

Daichi shrugs. "I often find swords and shields."

"Gels." Genis points out.

".. That's creepy." Lloyd shivers. "A snake, and then you kill it.. And a sword, bigger than it is, is there... Those snakes aren't that big." he shudders.

"One of life's great mysteries, kid." Daichi says.

* * *

September 3rd

* * *

"I think I see Triet." Lloyd shades his eyes from the after dawn light. "Not sure though."

"I see it too." Genis adds. "So unless we're both hallucinating, it's there."

"You see it to, right?" Lloyd asks Piers, Shikka and Daichi. "Please say we're not dying?"

"Hallucinating." Genis corrects.

"Close enough." Lloyd mutters.

"Yeah, we see it." They say in unison.

"Yeesss!" Lloyd sighs, and within an hour, they make it into Triet. Lloyd immediately heads for the inn, pooling all the Gald they have into one pocket to get rooms. Genis and Noishe sit down in the stable. Daichi makes a beeline to the bar. Most of the Trietians move away from the Desian without looking at him, he gets that invisible bubble-treatment as he moves. Lloyd comes back out, and then Genis motions for him to dive behind Noishe. A quartet of Desians, in a different color armor than Daichi's, walk down the main street.

"This is an order from Lord Forcystus! A human named Lloyd is on the run with an Exsphere."One says. Daichi doesn't seem to care. Piers and Shikka had already retired to their rooms. When he hears the word 'Forcystus', he panics. "Form a cordon in all areas immediately." the speaking Desian held some papers.

"What does this Lloyd look like?" the second asks.

"His likeness and description are on the wanted posters. We're counting on you."

"Yes (my lord!), Sir!" the second says once more, then they split up. The first goes to a board, and tacks up a really ugly rendition of Lloyd. Daichi smirks, walking to the inns door and leaning against it.

"Hello, boys. Ya miss me?" Daichi asks. The quartet glance at him, almost like they were going to ignore him, before they notice the armor, and its current state. Lloyd and Genis peer worriedly over Noishe's back.

"You..?" One starts to say.

"What are you doing here?" the first snaps, glaring.

"Well... I dunno." Daichi scratches the back of his neck. "Didn't expect to see you lot."

"You were 'let-loose'," the first says, the words a bit sarcastic, "weren't you? Then why are you still wearing the armor?"

"Let loose? More like being thrashed to within an inch of my life and dumped in the desert." Daichi scoffs.

"You knew what would happen if you broke the rules." The first sneers. "Those who aren't fit for the Coming Age are cast out." He doesn't put too much feeling into that, however...

Daichi snorts. "Whatever. You gunna finish the job?"

"We've got other business." the man snaps, then they completely disperse. Lloyd and Genis release held breaths.

"Man…wanted posters and search parties. They're really serious." Lloyd sighs, a whine almost.

Daichi scoffs. "Losers!"

"We need to hurry and find Colette." Genis says, as they deem it safe to come out of hiding.

"Hey, I thought we were looking for Colette to protect her...f This is more like we're looking for her to get help." Lloyd feels some of his man-pride damaged.

"Does it really matter why we're looking for her?" Genis asks as they move to the poster board. "You think too much when you don't have to!"

Daichi walks up behind both of them. "Not a bad likeness, kid."

"Am I reaaaly this ugly?" Lloyd asks, depressed. For one thing, it was all cartoon-like, with an incredibly pointy nose... and a weird squinty eyed sneer-smirk. Lloyd's self-esteem drops another handful of points.

"It's good. They'll never find you with this....I think." Genis says, eying the poster.

Daichi chuckles, ruffling Lloyd's hair. "I'm pissin' ya about, kid... Oops." He forgot to stifle his language.

"Huh?" Genis and Lloyd ask, confused and curious, after Lloyd ducks away and repairs his hair into its proper messiness. Beware the teenage yearning for swearwords...

"N-Nothin'. Forget I said anything." Daichi tries to get them to ignore it.

"I heard there's a fortune teller in Triet." Genis changes the subject. "We can ask her where Co.. the Chosen went." Genis can't stifle the distrust of the man so easily.

"You're right!" Lloyd forgets the ugly drawing, but his stomach reminds him of something else. "... After food." Lloyd and Genis lead the way back into the inn, when Lloyd spots a small pig-statue that steamed. Daichi just heads back to the bar.

"... What the hell...?" Lloyd asks, and moves over to touch it. A poof of smoke erupts before Lloyd can, and the boys recoil. A man, in a green, striped outfit, appears with a little dance, throwing his arms wide. One holds a giant fork, the size of him, and on his head rests a large chef's hat.

"Tadaa!" the blond man says. "I'm the Wonder Chef!" Lloyd and Genis stare stupidly at him. "And today, I'll teach you Cabbage Rolls!" Daichi glances behind him. Quickly, the Wonder Chef had pulled out a small cabbage from somewhere, and some strips of pork.

"You do it like this.." Lloyd watches dazed, and Genis nods at each step. "There you go! Spread the love of food!" he vanishes in a puff of smoke.

"... Creepy." Lloyd says.

"Pointless." Daichi corrects.

"Sweet! Cabbage Rolls!" Genis says, making some with the help of the inns kitchen.

"No more Sandwiches and oatmeal!" Lloyd perks up. Daichi rolls his eyes. In any case, with free ingredients and a new recipe, Lloyd and Genis make lunch.

* * *

So. Daichi looks like Maes Hughes. Leon says so. "Exactly. Like. Maes. Hughes."


	6. From Sand to Metal

"Fortune teller?" Lloyd asks, finishing a plate.

"Lemme give these to Shikka and Piers first." Genis races up the stairs with a plate in either hand. Piers has passed out. He's recharging his "magic" as he sleeps. Shikka is staring at the ceiling.

"Food." Genis offers.

"Thanks." Shikka replies.

"It's cabbage rolls." Genis says, setting the plates down. "We're going to go visit the Fortune Teller, to find out where Colette and the others have gone." Genis says, turning for the door.

"Okay, have fun."

"Thanks." Genis waves, and then he and Lloyd and Daichi head for the Oasis. They pass through a little Bazaar like place, Lloyd and Genis earning weird looks for their company of a Desian, but they make it to the end without trouble, a small tent at the back of a road that winded around the Oasis. Daichi gets Lloyd and Genis to go and buy him clothes, handing them the Gald.

Genis makes a face at Daichi. "Any colors you don't want? Knowing Lloyd, you'll get bright red..."

Lloyd huffs. "I like this color! And my Dad made these clothes for me."

"Blacks and browns are less conspicuous." Daichi says.

"Booorrring.." Lloyd sighs.

"I don't think you'll find any black here. We're in a desert." Genis says. "But we'll try." They spend a minute looking over Daichi, trying to figure out how to guesstimate his size. Daichi sighs, reciting his measurements.

"And get me a red bandanna." Daichi finishes. Lloyd blinks, quickly getting a glazed look in his eyes, and Genis nods, and repeats them to Daichi.

"And a red bandanna." Lloyd remembers that part.

"Yeah. To cover the ears." Daichi indicates them.

"Ok." Lloyd and Genis go to find clothes. Daichi glares at people who give him funny looks. And they shuffle on their way. Lloyd and Genis come back, with two pairs of clothing. One was lighter cloth, browns and tans, with black belts and boots, in a semi-standard Tunic like style. The other was the darkest brown they could find, a heavier material, also rather standard tunic-y like. The over was looser than need be, and the under slightly loose on both.

"You're supposed to wear armor under the large shirt, and over the smaller. So it doesn't rub and all that." Lloyd jerks his collar down to show some leather armor, then lets it back up.

"Thanks. I'll change later. Oh. Here's for my room." Daichi hands Lloyd the Gald.

"Thanks!" Lloyd pockets it, and then they turn to what they had been planning on doing all along. "Fortune teller." Lloyd reads the sign next to the tent. The teens shrug, then enter. Daichi takes up post outside.

"Welcome to the House of Fortune. What would you like me to divine for you?" A woman sat behind a table with a ball on it.

"Well, I'd like to know where Colette..where the Chosen is now." Lloyd says, shifting in the heat.

"Understood." The woman says. "That will be 100 Gald."

"That's expensive!" Lloyd gasps.

"..Did you say something?" the fortune teller asks.

"Ah, n..No, I..." Lloyd fishes the coins out of his pocket and passes them to the woman.

"Mmhm..I can see her! The Chosen is heading for the oasis that is said to have been destroyed when Efreet went out of control." The Fortune teller says.

"...Is that true?" Genis asks.

"The Chosen's companion said so, so there's no doubt." she shrugs. Lloyd and Genis look at each other, wondering which had said that. Lloyd and Genis thank the woman, and back out.

"Triet Ruins." Genis says, after they leave the tent. "That's west of here."

"Really...?" Lloyd yawns to the noon sun and heat. "I think sleeping is a good idea. Just a short nap, to get back on the right...*yawn* sleep schedule..." Daichi yawns also, tired. Lloyd and Genis lead the way back through the bazaar, and then to the square before the inn with its circle stone pattern. Shikka meets them in the square.

"Hi." Lloyd yawns, somehow splitting that word into two.

"Wait!" it's a strangely familiar, generic voice. Lloyd and Genis turn toward the other parts from the square to see the Desians. "Doesn't he look like the guy in the wanted poster?" One asks, pointed at Lloyd.

"Let's see.." the second asks, peering at the poster. "... Yeah, he looks just like it!" Shikka blinks, positioning himself in front of Lloyd. Daichi stands beside the Laguz, getting his axe back.

"Good for you, Lloyd. They say you're good looking." Genis jibes.

"Do I really look that bad...?" Lloyd moans.

"You must be Lloyd!" That first Desian says.

"... Yeah, that's right." Lloyd says.

"Hey, what about your usual "Who are you to ask for my name" thing?" Genis asks.

"I'm not gunna even bother..." Lloyd sighs, face palming.

Daichi smirks. "You jokers thinking of taking us?"

"Here.. I guess you can't run away with a poster of your face everywhere!" the second Desian says. Lloyd twitches.

"You're really starting to piss me off!" Lloyd draws his swords, facing the Desians.

"Get him!" The Desians are more focused on Lloyd than the others, to their mistake. A Stone Blast takes one out by stones to the family jewels, curtsey of Genis. Daichi draws his axe, running into the melee, starting to hack away at any Desian that moves. Crude, but effective. Lloyd has the start of a style forming, his slash and hacking with his blunt weapons has a sort of style to hit, and he linked his ability of three or four consecutive blows with more through something called Sword Rain, a flurry of blows centered at the torsos of his opponents. The Desians fall rather easily. Daichi stops, panting, smirking. Seems he enjoyed this sort of thing.

"Heh. All talk." Lloyd wipes his swords clean, and sheaths them, his back to the entrance of the city.

"Lloyd don't let your guard down, or you'll regret it." Genis says.

"I'm not letting my guard down. It's just that they were so pitiful.." Lloyd shakes his head. A crackling sound alerts Genis, and a ball of lightening flies for Lloyd's back. Shikka jumps, intercepting the orb. Daichi retaliates by casting Aqua, blasting an orb of water at the caster. This Desian dodges, more nimble for all he wore the same. Another ball forms, and strikes Lloyd, who was in the middle of twisting to look, half-drawing a blade.

Lloyd falls with a muted noise, one like "Whoa." His limbs jerk, then he collapses.

"Lloyd!" Genis kneels by the older teen as the silent Desian points a palm, already gathering another ball of lightening, at Daichi. He's already running, axe drawn to smite the Desian. The Desian blasts him with the ball of lightening, his other palm gathering a new one in case one isn't enough to disable Daichi. Two more Desians appear behind him, and look a bit more capable than the ones they had taken down. One isn't, but it stalls him enough. By this time, Piers is there, awoken by the commotion. The Desian snarls under his helmet, this second ball of lightening for Piers.

"Take the boys, the large man, and get out of here." His voice wasn't the general rough, angry of the normal Desian, but a more dispassionate, clear one. A fourth lightening ball formed in his hand and he shoots Daichi with this one, violet crackling around his fingers. This one was heavily attuned with Lightening. Piers yelps, being smote with the lightening, it causing more damage than normal due to Piers' Mercury element. Daichi goes down.

"Retreat." the Desian continues.

"I'm..scared! Please don't hurt me....I'll be good." Genis wails, and after lifting up Lloyd and two more taking Shikka, Genis is shoved to follow. Lloyd is swung over a shoulder, and the first, the lightening wielding, is the only without burden as they leave Triet.

Evening, a good 4-6 hours later, and the Desian quartet are in front of a bright blue building.

"I've brought Lloyd." The one carrying him says.

"And this big guy." One of the two carrying Shikka says.

"Who is that child?" The one by the door asks.

"His friend, apparently. What should we do with him?" These Desians.. sound weary.

"The Leader only wants Lloyd, and this one is a bonus." Says the zappy-one. "I don't see any need to bring this one along."

"Understood." says one closest to Genis. Shikka starts to come around. They take Lloyd and Shikka inside, when they returned, Genis looked up at them with teary eyes.

"What's going to happen to me..?" he asks, sob-voiced. "Lloyd forced me to come here." He starts breaking into tears. "I didn't want to." he sniffles. and starts crying.

"... All right, all right!" One of them says. "As a fellow kinsman, we'll let you go. Now get out of here!" Genis stops crying.

"You sure that's alright?" the other asks.

"What can a kid do?" the first replies.

"Thank you for freeing me! I'll never forget this! Goodbye, mister!" Genis says, before he dashes out.

"Just get out of here!" Genis spots Noishe.

* * *

Lloyd has turned from unconscious, to deeply asleep. it's easy for the Desians to strip him of belongings, besides his clothes, and then dump him in a cell. Shikka gets the cell next door. Shikka tosses a small rock at Lloyd to wake him up. Lloyd remains comatose for another 6-8 hours, or until the dawn time. He really needed that sleep, and it was a pleasant, AC kind of cool inside the cells.

* * *

Genis runs up to Noishe. "Noishe! You followed us! Okay, let's save Lloyd together!" he spots his other two companions. "With you two, too, of course!" Genis grins at the slightly miffed/tired Daichi and Piers. "Although, I think finding Sis and the others is our best bet."

Daichi has an unconscious Piers over one shoulder. "Fuckin' mages..." He growls. "Poor kid is still out."

"Might have something to do with the lightening." Genis says. "He's been using mainly water, or ice, spells, so I'm guessing he's weak against the adjacent Mana type. Sis and the others should be in Triet by now. Unless the mercenary really is a jerk like Lloyd thinks. Our best bet for finding them is to return. Noishe can carry Piers." Its evening.

Daichi puts Piers on Noishe. "You okay, boy?" He pets the...doggy. Noishe gives him an interesting look, once again, those eyes weren't the eyes of a regular dog, saying 'pet me, I luv you'. Noishe puts up with the pets for a little bit, then turns and leads the way back with a growl-whine-noise.

* * *

September 4th

* * *

Shikka is just sitting silently. Waiting. Lloyd stirs.

"...uh...ow." Lloyd groans, getting of the slab-wood pallet chained up to a wall. "Where am I?" he moans.

"...If so, I feel sorry for that Lloyd kid." Two Desians are talking against a far wall.

"Yeah. He can't possibly escape execution." the second replies.

"Execution?!" Lloyd whispers, not moving too much so that they won't notice him awake. "What the hell?!" Shikka glances at Lloyd. A door hisses open.

"Hey, Lord Botta's calling you." A third Desian comes in.

"Gotcha." the other two leave, and this one takes to a bored pacing. Lloyd rolls off his cot-thing, and pats down his pockets, noting the lack of blades.

"Dammit. I got nothing." he hisses, before checking his gloves. a blue-ish steel ring with a red center is on one of his fingers, under the glove. ".. Sorcerers ring..."

"What's that?"

"It shoots Mana. I think that's what the explanation was." Lloyd crouched next to the bars, aiming his fist with the Desian as he walked back and forth. "If I can hit him just right..."

"Why not let me maul him?" Shikka asks.

"through the bars?" Lloyd asks, still pointing his fist to the Desian. "I can open the lock, once he's out of the way."

"I can break these bars." Shikka says.

Lloyd blinks, staring at Shikka. "Really? You want to? I can get out once he's not around."

"Who knows when that'll be." Shikka sighs, watching the bars.

"They're Desians, and want to kill me, if not us." Lloyd mutters his mental argument. "Which means it's perfectly fine to kill them... and he won't be able to come after us if he's dead." Lloyd drops his hand. "Go for it." Shikka gets to his feet, flashing with white light, shifting into lion form. He rams himself into the bars, knocking them out like skittles. The Desian turns, and while the man's distracted, Lloyd slips his arm between the bars and fiddles with the lock on the wall. Shikka roars, pouncing, mauling the Desian. The Desian is mauled. Lloyd pulls his arm back out of the bars as the gate whirs, and then opens.

"..." He looks askance at the bloody mess. "... he's definitely not getting back up. Now where's my stuff." he goes around the corner, sneakily, into what looks like some sort of cell-security room. Empty, he was glad to see. a box looks a bit out of place, with two wooden swords lying on top. Shikka reverts to human form, stretching. Lloyd grabs his swords, and takes his packs and the random stuff he had in his pockets, which strangely included both books that he had been given.

"let's see." Lloyd comes back, not looking at the mauled Desian. "That's a dead end, so we have to go this way." he turns looking down the hall to the right, although left, if he stood in the 'doorway' of his cell. Shikka just follows, ready to shift. Lloyd glances, a tiny bit unused to a silent companion. the hall turns a corner, and they see the door out. It hisses open, and a duo of Desians come in.

"Who the hell are you?" One asks, halting.

"..Uh-oh." Lloyd stares.

"P..Prison break!" the second shouts, turning to flee.

"Crap." Lloyd draws and lunges. Shikka shifts, pouncing again. Lloyd takes an _Attack of Opportunity!_ and he doesn't fumble it, striking down the fleeing Desian, and beating him into unconsciousness. Shikka growls lowly, glancing at Lloyd. Lloyd shrugs, and then sirens go off.

".. crap." You can tell his new favorite word. Lloyd forgets the Desians, and hurries into the next room, looking about wildly. The large lion follows. Lloyd spots a weird machine, and looks at it. "... weird. Looks kinda familiar..." he looks up, hearing some noise or another, then dives into the lowered section of the floor, under a large machine in the center of the room. Shikka reverts, following the boy. Two Desians come out of one of the halls.

"Where is he?! That kid in red disappeared!" the first mutters, looking around, but not down. They walk through the room, then into the cells, while Lloyd mutters about 'red'. they come back

"He wasn't over there either." the second says, crossing his arms.

"That's strange." Neither looks down at the center-machine. Shikka keeps quiet... As usual. "How could we miss him when there's only one passage?"

"Let's head back." The second says, then they move for the door they had come from. It doesn't budge.

"... Oh yeah." the first mutters. "This room has a special mechanism." two robots appear, hovering above the ground.

"It's annoying to go through all the trouble of electrifying them and moving them over the panels just to open the door." they suit actions to words.

"Electrifying?" Shikka whispers.

"Zap things." Lloyd mutters, watching them.

"Lord Botta sure likes to do things the hard way..." The first mutters, as the doors open.

"All right, let's go look for that kid in red. and the lion-man. At least, it looked like a lion got poor Hank." they leave, and the door closes.

"Red, red, red." Lloyd grumbles, pulling himself out of the depression. "Does my outfit stand out that much? Sheesh."

"It is rather red." Shikka says, following.

"..." Lloyd looks at his jacket. "... Now, let's see... I should take a closer look at that thing..." it looks like a metal cauldron, with a glowing light inside. Actually, a lot similar, if smaller, than the altar he found the Sorcerer's Ring on in the Martel Temple.

"That ring... Can it... Electrify?" Shikka asks.

"No. It shoots fire." Lloyd looks at the ring as it starts twitching. "But it's acting weird.. and this thing looks kinda like what I found it on..." Lloyd slips the ring off and puts it on the cauldron thing. Light flickers over it, and when the lights calm, there are two, one with the red-center piece, and one with a violet center. "Huh...? two?"

"One must shoot electricity." Shikka guesses, looking at them.

"I think so. the spell-circle, and runes for Lightening Magic are that same kind of violet as the center..." Lloyd slips the original on, and the new refuses to go on his finger. "..." he takes the first off, then the second on, and the same thing happens when he tries to put the original back on. ".. fine, fine.." he takes a string from his pocket, and makes a loop, and puts the fire one on it. "lessee."

Shikka looks at the roboty things. "What ARE these?"

"No idea." Lloyd fishes around in his pockets, and pulls out a small crystal lens. "Ummm.." he peers through it. "Raybits. Weak against electricity. They shoot you." the lens crackles and falls to bits. "and we gotta zap them on the tiles... probably means those blue ones there.... and there." Opposite sides of the room...

"Do it, then." Shikka says, watching the robots.

"Yeah." Lloyd waits for the 'pacing' machine to get to where he wants it, right on the tile, then points his be-ringed fist. A small ball of lightening, of the same blue, but smaller than the ones that had been used against them, flies for the robot. it halts, jerking in place, and Lloyd darts for the other side of the room, and the other machine to zappy it. Shikka examines the robot. It keeps making fizzling noises, and random beeps, but it's staying put and sparking. Lloyd zaps the other, and then the door beeps, and opens with a hiss.

"Quick. the door doesn't seem to say open long." Shikka nods, rushing through. Lloyd follows, streamers flicking. the door hisses shut after them, and the streamers are not caught.

"Ok... straight ahead?" Lloyd looks at the path before them, which had stairs down and right, and stairs up and ahead.

Shikka nods. "The fresh air is coming from there."

"Really?" Lloyd asks, curious.

"Yeah."

"Cool." Lloyd says, and then starts down the main path. a Raybit moves up the stairs to the right, in Lloyd's blind spot.

Shikka glances behind him. "Uh... Lloyd?" He points.

Lloyd looks confused, but he spins. "Gah." he staggers back, and points the electric-ring at the machine, and zappies it. "... startled me." he pokes the shaking, stalled machine with one of his swords.

"Security system?" Shikka asks, looking at the machine.

"I guess.." Lloyd sighs. "Let's watch out, but keep moving.." the door ahead opens for them. Shikka nods, following the boy. The door shuts behind them with the same hiss, but the lights at the top go off.

"... " Lloyd looks at all the doors in the three walls of the room. "Looks like all the doors are locked..." He spots a large box with the strange words 'Game Cube' on them. "...." he looks at the pattern on the ring surrounding said cube.

"GameCube? What the hell?" Shikka stares at the box.

"No idea..." Lloyd mumbles. The outer ring had a red, green, and blue spot, at the points where the doors were, and the ring closest to the 'Cube' had a darker-blue spot at the tip, one directly opposite, then a sliver to the left, and between the two. the wall that had no door had three pillars, with marks on the floor of a half-circle, a quarter circle, and a half-of-the-quarter circle. "..."

"A puzzle?" Shikka asks.

"I guess... but which door do we want..?" Lloyd looks at the spots, which didn't line up on any of the three, and then at the beams for the ceiling. he gets a thoughtful look, gasp, and steps up to the half-circle one. "..." he shoots it with the zappy ring. the inner circle around the Cube whirs, and spins the amount under Lloyd's feet. One of the doors lights up.

"? Guess we could check that one..." Lloyd jumps off the slight platform, and walks over for it.

* * *

Attack of Oppertunity is a D&D term. When an enemy is running, or getting back up, or picking up their stuff, they have a better chance of getting whacked.

I had the feeling i was gunna comment, but forgot it.

Meh.

Laguz are from FE

Lemurians are from GS

Daichi is from Leon

Everyone else is from Tales of/Bamco


	7. AC in the morning

Piers has finally regained consciousness, but still sufffers spasming. Genis, Noishe, Piers and Daichi reach the town about midnight, despite Pier's issues. Noishe put up with them without too much complaint.

"I'm tired.." Genis groans, holding his head.

"Tell me about it." Daichi mutters. Noishe whines, agreeing with the two.

"...Genis..?" a girl asks, and a form in a white dress comes out of the inn. "Genis, that is you!" the happy-go-lucky blonde cheers, running out. "I thought it was some weird monster, not Noishe, but I had to check..." Colette runs up.

Daichi stops beside Piers who keeps jerking slightly, looking pissed. "You okay?"

"Barely."

"Piers, you're here too!" Colette spots him after hugging Genis. The door to the inn opens, but no one is heard coming out. "And Noishe!" She pauses. "Who are you?" She asks of Daichi.

"What? No screaming? No pointing? Just 'who are you?' Boy. Humans are different." He sighs. "I'm Daichi."

"Chosen." Part of the stable's shadows manifest into Kratos. "... step back from the Desian." he says, watching Daichi, hand slightly clenched on his blade-hilt. His Exsphere was flickering with more emotion than his tone or face held.

Daichi nudges Piers. "Who's the guy with the girl-hair?" he whispers. Kratos tilts his head to regard Daichi as Colette hesitantly steps back.

"... Desian," His voice was a soft, cold, hiss. "I suggest you leave town." his left hand clenches about his sword-hilt, and his eyes were a dark crimson. Face blank, it was his eyes that held all the anger. "I will strike you down, here, otherwise."

Piers steps before Daichi. "I find it difficult to comprehend your asshattery. Care to run it by me again?" He seems ready to defend Daichi. Colette looks confused, and Noishe looks worried, glancing between Piers and Daichi, and Kratos.

"...." Kratos turns his eyes to Piers. "... You are a friend of the Chosen, boy." he says, slowly, and some of a slight madness leaves his eyes. "... she would be displeased if I cut you down as well. Move." Colette gasps, glancing up at Kratos, but he was watching the two other males. Piers glares at Kratos with a You know what I am look.

"And Daichi is our friend. Which makes him the Chosens by default. And you'll have to go through me to get at him." Piers says. Kratos looks like he's fighting down the urge to snarl, and Genis is giving the two parties the same wide-eyed, worried stare that Noishe and Colette are. Kratos silently removes the blade and scabbard at his side, dropping it with a clatter.

"... I want to talk to him." Kratos says, voice tightly controlled. his eyes are still angry.

Daichi removes his axe. "Fine by me." Kratos doesn't even bother with a 'this way', just jerking with his chin toward the walls of the city, behind the stable, and walking there himself. They'll be seen, but not heard. Daichi follows. He still has Aqua if things go amiss. He's tensed, expressionless. Kratos stops once he's sure they're out of earshot.

"I have three questions." Kratos says, voice very calm, turning to face Daichi, his eyes smoldering. "And depending on your answers, I'll kill you here and now, no matter what the others think, or wish."

Daichi looks at Kratos. "Shoot."

"Do you know of, or participated in, the Angelus project?" Kratos asks.

Daichi shakes his head. "Nope."

"Did you work at Kvar's Ranch?" Kratos gives no indication whether this was the 'right' answer or not.

"No. Forcystus' ranch." Daichi replies.

"And where is the boy, Lloyd Irving?" Kratos asks, studying Daichi's face, almost looking like he was bored. Again, no sign of a 'right' or a 'wrong' answer.

"That blue place? Looks like a pimp mansion. North and East of here." Daichi says. For a second, Kratos's face was blank, then a slight twitch happened at the corner of his mouth, and faded back into blankness.

"...I see. And you had nothing to do with his capture by Desians?" Kratos ignores the fact that this is a fourth question.

"Ask Genis and Piers. The cowardly scum attacked from behind." Daichi says. Kratos half-lids his eyes, and they've calmed to a rather dead, dull red.

".. I see." Kratos turns on his heel, split cape-tails flicking as he walks off. Daichi follows at a safe distance, thinking(1). Kratos gives no indication that he's aware of Daichi's existence anymore.

"Where's Lloyd?" Colette comes to the realization that her friend was missing.

"Kidnapped." Piers says, twitching. He growls, saying a large string of swear words, cursing the mage. Genis stares wide eyed. You can see him mentally cataloguing the swears. Kratos frowns, picking up his sword and replacing it by his side.

"What..?!" Colette immediately looks both worried, and insistent. "We have to save him!" She clenches her fists before her chest, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Easy, girl. We need a plan. And Piers needs to stop twitching." Daichi says, picking up his axe, belting it back on. Kratos glances at Piers, and like before, green lights flicker about his left hand.

"_First Aid_." Kratos casts, and the lights flicker over the teen. "I will get Miss Sage." he turns and walks into the inn. It cures the twitch, but Piers looks sulky.

"I wanted Raine to do it...Thanks a lot, Daichi." Piers mutters.

"What?!" Daichi looks confused.

Genis shakes his head. "Wow... and I though Lloyd was weird..."

Colette looks at Piers. "You were hurt?" she asks, worried.

"Not re-"

Daichi cuts across. "Yeah, I had to lug his sorry ass through the desert. Not fun." Raine exits the inn, with Kratos a creepy shadow behind her, and she scowls at Daichi. Genis, Colette and Noishe know that look, and inch away.

"erm..." Genis says, as Raine strides up, and reaches to slap Daichi upside the head. Daichi, caught unawares, his smacked upside the head, knocking his helm off. It's the first time he's had it off, revealing short-cropped black hair. He hurriedly grabs a pair of glasses before they can be stepped on.

"What the-?!" he asks, returning his glasses to his face.

"Watch your language!" The healer snaps, holding her staff in the other hand. "Genis is 12, and Colette is 16! They have no need to hear such language!" Raine glares up at him.

"All right, sorry..." He picks his helm up again, jamming it back on his head.

"Don't let me catch you using such language again!" Raine snaps. Kratos is looking a bit bored, his head tilted to one side, eyes up and watching the walls. Daichi has a look that says. 'I'll use it, you just won't catch me.' Raine frowns, then notices the missing party member. "... I knew this would happen." she sighs. "Genis, why did you let Lloyd persuade you to follow us? and Piers, as well? I thought you were both smarter than that." Genis looks flustered.

"It.. It's not that! we..." Genis looks down then, sad. Piers has nothing to say, healing the myriad of cuts and bruises. Not to mention his broken arm. Seems his power came back. "We tried helping someone at the Ranch." Genis says. "And then the Desians got mad, and came after Lloyd. They burnt most of Iselia. Including our house.." Genis's last comment was softer. "And then they set this.. Exbelua on us." Kratos turns his attention to the conversation. "This Desian, he said he was Forcystus, attacked Piers and Lloyd as well... and then the Exbelua attacked him.."

"Forcystus? Grand Cardinal Forcystus?" Daichi looks up, interested.

"Yeah. That's he said. He used a lot of wind magic... But the Exbelua took him down.." Genis tears up. "It.. was the old lady we tried to help at the ranch. They.. did something, and she turned into a giant monster, and attacked us!" Colette hugs Genis. "That Forcystus guy, he got hurt pretty bad, and then the Desians retreated... Then the Mayor.. banished Lloyd, Piers and I from Iselia..." Daichi pounds his palm.

"Just as I thought. I was...let go when old Forcy was out on 'business'...That son of a..." He doesn't finish the sentence. Raine eyes him like she was expecting to be able to hit him soon.

"... The Mayor, and the other villagers agreed that if Lloyd stayed in Iselia, the Desians would continue to attack. Despite the treaty. But it wasn't right! I took Lloyd to see Marble. How were we to know that Lloyd's Exsphere was something special, and the Desians would want it!" Genis is crying now.

"So it was you? I remember getting clonked with a hunk of ice." Daichi mutters.

"Me." Piers raises his hand.

"I can't use Ice just yet." Genis mutters. Raine sighs, shaking her head.

"And now he's been captured by Desians... In that conspicuously blue building in the north east." Raine says, thinking.

"The ambigouosly camp pimp mansion." Daichi adds. Raine seems to be debating if that was a 'bad word' or not, but decides it isn't. Kratos turns from the conversation back to the walls, a twitch on his face again, before it vanishes.

"We have to rescue him!" Genis pulls free of Colette, looking at his sister.

"But how?" Raine is obviously the planner.

"I could get you in." Daichi volunteers.

"We could **cut** our way in." Kratos offers his personal favorite, as he shifts his blade in sheath.

"I have a feeling the second won't get us very far." Raine says, and Kratos shrugs.

Daichi nods. "Just give me an hour to repair my uniform."

Raine nods, taking Genis's shoulder. "Someone needs some sleep." She tells Genis, then Piers.

"I'll see what gels and bottles I can find." Kratos turns off into the market, despite it being very, very early morning.

* * *

September 5th

* * *

Lloyd comes back into the main-Cube room. "Dead end." it was the south door. "So, we want that one, because we came in the right one..." Lloyd says, using process of elimination. Shikka remains silent. It's a bit unnerving. The Laguz seems depressed. Lloyd glances at Shikka. "You ok?" He moves over to shoot the zappy column again.

"Y-Yeah..." That translates as 'No.'

"You sure?" Lloyd asks, picking a different symbol-platform to stand on, and zapping the pillar. the Cube whirs, and spins. "... damn, not the north door..." he walks back to the cube.

"Y-Yeah...No...but I don't know if I can tell you." Shikka says.

"Why?" Lloyd asks, looking at the dots on the inner ring, using his hands to figure out if the half, quarter or 8th was needed to get the spot he wanted at the stable-spot.

"You're busy. It can wait." Shikka says, watching the boy.

"I think I got it." Lloyd says, hopping back over to the platforms. "The lights at the door match the circles on the floor. and the inner circle has the same colors too. so, match the door-lights with the color you want, and match those two colors..."

Shikka nods. "Right..." Lloyd stares at the pillars, then hops up to the one he wants, shooting it, then another in succession. For a moment, it seems too much for the Cube, but it all works out, and the north door hisses into unlocked, opens.

"Is that it?" Shikka asks, looking at the door.

"I think so." Lloyd says, scrubbing the back of his head.

Shikka head tilts. "We know where that gets us." He mutters under his breath. Lloyd genuinely didn't hear that, and so was perfectly cheerful as he lead the way to the door. It hisses open for them. Shikka smirks, following the boy. Lloyd starts down the hall, looking oddly at the strange curving script in the hallway, with an arrow under it, and shrugs, heading down it anyway. Before a fork, a Desian rounds the corner ahead of them.

"Whoa?!" Lloyd yelps, stopping.

"I'm almost out of energy, but I can take this guy." Shikka says, a soft growl.

"But the entrance was locked." Lloyd hisses. "With magic-stuff that zapped my picks. We're heading for the control room."

"Hey, you! What are you doing here?!" The Desian starts forward.

"Uh-oh.." Lloyd mutters. "Left! Quick!" He hisses, spotting a door. Shikka follows. Lloyd lets it shut, actually shut, not hiss closed, behind them. The Desian doesn't follow.

"Phew, that was close." Lloyd sighs. A cough notifies them of another person in the room. He was about as tall as Lloyd, perhaps a little taller since he seemed level with Lloyd's gravity defying hair, although much more feminine looking- it might have to do with the long bright blue hair that hid half of his face and fell in a ponytail to his ass.

"And just who the hell are you?" The man asks, a calm, cold voice.

"Uh...Can I maul him?" Shikka asks.

"I'd advise against it." The man says, calmly and coldly, holding up a gauntleted hand, and lightening forms in it. His blue eyes crackled a tad violet.

"Give me your name, and I'll give you mine!" Lloyd replies.

"Hahahaa!" Sarcastic laughter, to be sure, but it was a mask, no mirth in it. That lightening ball remains steadily between the two of them, ready to flick from one to the other. Shikka tenses, ready for anything. He growls lightly. The man glances at him.

"You've both certainly got guts." He says, emotionless. "But I'm afraid I don't see the need to introduce myself to miserable little creatures like the two of you." That black cloak shifts, revealing a brilliant red interior, baggy white pants, and red-vest like armor.

"What are you? Head pimp?" Shikka has quite a mouth on him. Lloyd grins as the man's pale temple gives an angry-vein twitch, and the lightening about his fingers crackles up a bit more.

"What a coincidence, cause I don't see a need to introduce myself either to a moron who doesn't realize how pathetic he is." Lloyd says, grinning. this sets the man off.

"Why you little...!" His anger is too much for words, as he seems to choke on it, the crackling growing.

"Also, I don't see the need to introduce myself to a guy who can't co-ordinate an outfit." Shikka says, growing a Lloyd-grin. The man snarls, more lightening flickering about his form to create scorch marks on the floor, raising smoke.

"Uhh... I think this might have been a bad idea..." The words come out of wide-eyed Lloyd too late to stop the man's hand from swinging towards him, as Lloyd realizes Dwarven Vow number #31, Never Piss Off the Mage. Number 32 was Never Piss Off the Cook, but anyway. Lloyd quickly holds his arms in front of his face in a defensive stance, the left outermost, Exsphere glinting with the mage's light. Suddenly, the lightening vanished, the cloaked man looking puzzled.

"An.. Exsphere!" The pause is barely there. "You're... Lloyd?" He seems a tiniest bit shocked, and a tiniest bit 'I should have known this, fate likes to bitch-slap me'.

"And if I am?" Lloyd peers around his hands. The ball of lightening Mana had vanished, and the caped man steps forward to look at Lloyd, peering at the boys face, although those keen eyes said he had no need to peer.

"... I see the resemblance." He says, cold and calm again, although the glint in his eyes was calculating now. Shikka shifts into lion form, standing by Lloyd. Lloyd, disturbed by the proximity with the now calm mage, draws a sword. The man was light on his feet, darting back, with his arms crossing in the motion, then regarding them both with a calculating stare. The door on the other side of the room hisses open, and Botta comes in. Between the two, Botta was definitely more masculine, despite the dre-.. _Robe_.. having half a foot on the other, and gravity defying hair that rivals Lloyd's, might help. Shikka growls at Botta, tensing, his hackles rising. Botta glances at the strange lion in the office, for that's what they were in, and then ignores the oddity. Something about the way he does it says he's seen somewhat stranger.

"Sir!" Botta makes a slight stiffening of his spine a salute. "We've received reports that the Chosen's group has infiltrated the facility!" he says, two other Desians filing in behind him. The blue haired man swears.

"You.." Lloyd stares at Botta."You're the Desian that attacked the Temple!" Shikka blinks, reverting, standing behind Lloyd. Botta blinks, his attention flicking to Lloyd, before he smiles, as cold of an expression as the blankness that was his leaders.

"So you're Lloyd!" Apparently, everyone's heard about him. "Now this is amusing!"

"Botta!" the blue haired man snaps, getting the man's attention. "I'm leaving for now. Our plans will be ruined if he sees me." He starts for the door with a swish of cape.

"He?" Shikka asks, a soft rumble.

"No idea. I already saw him." Lloyd mutters back. "Genis, Kratos, Daichi, Piers.. Piers has kinda the same blue of hair. Related?"

"What of the Chosen?" Botta asks of the blue haired man.

"I'll leave that to you..." the man replies.

"Understood."

"Lloyd." the man glances at Lloyd, his eyes blue-green. "The next time we meet, you're mine." Lloyd looks confused. "Just you wait." He leaves.

"Piers has more fashion sense." Shikka comments.

"This is true." Lloyd grins as the caped man vanishes with a hiss of door, and click of lock. Botta takes a step forward, drawing a large sword that hooked back at the tip, a glinting rock in the hilt. The two other Desians take up flanking positions as another pair come out.

Shikka growls. "I-I can't transform!" The last Desian that enters is followed by flying blood off a long sword as he collapses to the floor. Curtsey of Kratos, who steps into the room, flicking his blade to clean it as he steps on the dying man's neck with an audible snap, and continues on. Genis and Colette follow him, although they skirt the body. Daichi comes in, blood on his axe and clothes. Kratos continues into the room, eyes on Botta. He's got blood on his face, in the pattern that said 'I cut someone who was too close to me, and it sprayed' and 'I haven't felt the need to clean up, I'm going to be killing more soon. I'll just get messy again.' Genis, giving Kratos worried looks, spots Lloyd.

"Lloyd! Are you ok?" Genis shouts across the room.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Colette adds. Daichi has the look of a man who enjoys killing. He smirks at the other Desians in the room.

Piers is behind. "Daichi, move your fat ass!"

"He looks fine." Kratos, with a clear view of the teen, tells the other two, his eyes flicking from the red-clad teen to Botta.

"You guys all came for me and Shikka?" Lloyd asks, quickly drawing other blade.

"Piers, Genis and Daichi came for me." Shikka corrects.

"Oops. Forgot to mention. The big guy can turn into a lion." Piers says.

"Indeed." Kratos gives that revelation all of the breath he felt it needed.

"Perfect timing." Botta gains everyone's attention again. "I'll take care of everyone at once!" A large earth spell fires, the only warning a faint pulse in the ground, a flicker of earthy brown light.

"Aqua!" Piers and Daichi yell in unison. A blast of water is fired at Botta before the two are knocked from their feet. Kratos darts through, dashing in with sword raised to meet Botta's with his own, the larger built man seemingly on par with the lean one. Lloyd yelps, and struggles to keep his footing. Colette naturally falls immediately onto her back, and is spared most of the spells effects. Piers freezes Botta's feet, the Aqua managing to wet the ground, making Piers able to ply his 'signature move.' The other Desians quickly step into the fray, and with that flip-from-back-to-feet, Lloyd joins back in. Colette draws twin throwing rings, and proceeds to use them, while Genis casts Fire Balls. Daichi starts hacking away, his axe blade glinting with blood. The three plain Desians fall quickly, battered and bruised by Lloyd's weapons, cut by Colette's, hacked with the strange overreach that permeates Kratos's sword style, crisped by Genis. A resounding crack heralds the breaking of Botta's weapon. Piers has drawn his own sword. Everyone but Shikka is facing Botta, weapons drawn.

"Ugh..." Botta grunts, taking a step back. the door is behind him. "I underestimated your abilities." He drops the hilt, and turns, taking the same exit the caped man had. It hisses shut, and the door seals itself with fire. Kratos appears to be debating if he could batter the door down, and continue on after the man, standing still where he had stopped moving.

"Isn't this a..." Raine enters the room finally, picking up the hilt. Piers sheaths the blade. Daichi smirks, wiping his axe on a Desians tunic. Kratos flicks his long sword, blood splattering on the now rather tattered offices walls, and he stands with it ready.

"Professor!" Lloyd seems shocked by the woman's arrival.

"Ah, Lloyd." Raine is more interested in the hilt in her hands. "Genis told me what happened." She glances at her brother as he picks his way over to them. "I apologize for the trouble he's caused you."

"No, I'm the one who dragged Genis into this." Lloyd says, shaking his head. "I'm sorry."

"As interesting as this talk is.." Kratos says, looking about the room, sword held casually so the point was at his knees. "Save it for later. We shouldn't stay here long." He turns to the door that Lloyd and company had taken in.

"You're right." Raine sighed. "I opened the entrance just now. Let's go."

Daichi looks back at the carnage, smirking. "Yeah. We've tore this place up enough." Lloyd readily agrees. Raine's comment had told them where she'd been during the fight, in the Control Room, and Lloyd happily is able to open the Cube Room to the exit this time. Kratos looks a tad disappointed when no more Desians jump out at them. As does Daichi. Shikka looks very tired. Lloyd is pleased to be back outside, even if it is late afternoon-evening heat of the desert. A large white and green blur takes down the teen.

"Noishe!" Lloyd yells, once he's able to get the dogs face away from the thorough cleaning of his.

"I have a question." Raine says, still holding the hilt of the weapon Botta had dropped as they walk through the desert. "This crystalline object attached to this weapon... Is this one of the Exspheres that Genis spoke of?"

Kratos glances over. "It would seem so." He returns his attention to the surrounding desert.

"Oh yeah." Lloyd stops chasing Noishe. "You use an Exsphere too."

"..So you noticed." Kratos says.

"Well, duh.." Lloyd mutters, his mood souring. Kratos ignores Lloyd.

"What are they, exactly?" Raine asks, fingering the gem. Kratos sighs.

Piers yawns. "They're strange..."

"It will take time to explain." Kratos says, spotting some brigands, sword sliding out again as he changed direction. "We can talk about it when we reach Triet."

"Yeah. Ok, Noishe! Race you!" Lloyd says, spinning to the large dog. Noishe howls, sprinting ahead. Shikka lags behind the group, still exhausted from the transforming and mauling.

"I'm so beat.." Genis sighs, groaning as they enter Triet. "I want to rest..." the poor mage hasn't slept very much in the past day. Kratos apparently had already taken care of the rooms for the night, and the mercenary disappears into one. a little while later, a disgruntled Lloyd deposits his belongings on the spare bed, the one that wasn't against a wall, he notices.

* * *

(1)Daichi's thoughts: I think he owns the blue place.

Leon would like to add that he stole that from LittleKuriboh's Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged Series. the Ambiguosly Camp thing


	8. Sand in the evening

Raine nods, accepting Lloyd's explanation, which had a few comments added by Kratos, about Exspheres. Shikka just goes up to his room flopping onto his bed. Piers has told everyone what Shikka is, and Daichi is in the bar.

"…In other words, these Exspheres are amplifiers that awaken our dormant capabilities." Raine thinks, then looks thrilled with the idea. "I wonder if I could use one too?!?"

"That would be difficult." Kratos says, from his shadow on the wall. "Exspheres are harmful to the body without a Key Crest." Colette and Genis look confused from where they're sitting on one of the beds.

"Um... can't we just make a Key crest?" Colette asks. Kratos shakes his head, sighing with a bit of irritation.

Piers looks up. "Lloyd told us that you need a special ore."

"As I told you before, a Key Crest is made by processing Inhibitor Ore, then engraving it with a crest to control the Exsphere attached to its surface." Kratos says, tired sounding, nodding at Piers's comment. "It is said to be a secret art known only to the Dwarves."

"Yeah." Lloyd agrees with the man for once. "I can engrave that charm.. err, crest, but.."

"But...?" Piers asks.

"Only my dad can process the ore." Lloyd says, shrugging.

"Well, is there any inhibitor ore among these materials?" Raine asks, then takes a pack, of hers, and dumps it on the floor with a clatter, beginning to sort out objects.

"Raine!" Genis is startled, recognizing some of the objects. "Did you bring these from our house?!"

"Of course." Raine says. "They're valuable research materials. This is a holy vase from the Balacruf Mausoleum. This is a jeweled sword from the Martel Temple. This is a priest's crown from the Asgard ruins. This is yellow ore from the Hima mines…" Raine indicates each of these items in turn. Lloyd stares at the mess.

"What the?... It's all junk!" Raine stands quickly, turning angrily upon Lloyd.

"What did you just say?!" as Lloyd tries to explain his reasoning to the irate professor, Kratos turns his attention from them to the ground. Something catches his attention, and he picks it up.

"...? ..." Kratos walks over to the pair, and takes Lloyds wrist. Lloyd jerks, and then stares at the ore that was put into his palm, and Kratos releases the boys arm.

"Ah." Raine spots the metal. "I picked that up in front of the human ranch. It was engraved with the angelic language, so I took it home."

"Professor!" Lloyd inspects it. "This is a Key crest!"

"The crest is half worn off." Kratos points out.

"Can't you re-engrave it?" Piers asks Lloyd.

"Yeah, I can fix that." Lloyd has already pulled off his left glove to trace the worn down symbols. "Don't worry, Professor, You'll be able to equip that Exsphere tomorrow."

"Really?!" Raine says, no longer angry. "Thank you, Lloyd! I'm sorry to make you go through the trouble, but I appreciate it!" Lloyd nods, feeling around in his pockets as he heads for the door, already absorbed in it. Piers glances at a bag at his belt, taking it.

"Uh, Professor?" Piers hands Raine it. "I believe you wanted to study this." Raine blinks, then realizes what he's talking about, hastily opening the bag. Kratos and Colette leave the room, Colette going to the room she shared with Shikka, Kratos the one he shared with Lloyd. Inside is the glittering Mercury Star. "Use the Mithril bag to hold it. Remember, if you touch it, it'll leave a painful burn forever." You can almost see Raine tempted to poke it with one of the less needed fingers just to test that. "It'll hurt."

"But the research..." Raine almost croons, still thinking about it. Genis sweat-drops.

".. No, sis. Poke it with sticks all you want, and if you want to poke it with something fleshy, take a chunk off a monster." Genis says.

"Marvelous idea!" Raine crows, shutting the bag. "I'll talk to Kratos or Daichi about getting some monster parts tomorrow."

"I wouldn't be surprised if Daichi had a black market in monster parts..." Piers mutters.

Genis raises an eyebrow. "And not Kratos?" Raine has started working on a book on the table in the room.

"Where would he put them?" Piers asks.

"I think his cape is hollow. He pulls that shield out of somewhere." Genis says.

"But if the shield is there, he has no room." Piers points out.

"Some monster parts are small. There's fangs and teeth, the hides are the bigger parts... " Genis realizes something. "You're not talking about the parts you'd sell normally, are you?"

"The Elemental Star only dissolves flesh." Piers confirms.

"... Done. I'll go see the professor." Kratos glances at the boy as he leaves, just sitting on his bed. "... Are you asleep?" Lloyd takes a detour to Colette's room, asking this of the chosen as she lies on her bed, although she's fully dressed, boots and all. Shikka is shifted into giant kitty form, and asleep, on the other side of her bed. Lloyd watches for a second, then turns to leave.

"Lloyd..."

"Huh?" Lloyd turns, as Colette sits up, looking at him.

"...I'm sorry that Father, Grandmother and I couldn't prevent your exile." She says softly.

"You dork." Lloyd shrugs. "It's not your fault, so you don't need to worry about it. And besides, I'm the reason the village was devastated." he says with a twisted smile. Shikka rolls onto his back, exposing his soft belly, purring lightly. Colette smiles at Shikka, then turns to face Lloyd again.

"For Marble's sake, and for the sake of the villagers that were killed, I'm going to do my best to regenerate the world." Colette's words weren't the ones of a carefree newly 16 year old.

"Yeah..." Lloyd says, rubbing the back of his head. He'd left his jacket in his room, wearing only the loose black muscle shirt. the suspenders gone too. The big cat paws at the air. Both teens grin at Shikka. "I'm sorry I woke you." Lloyd says.

"No, it's ok. Good night." Lloyd takes a half step forward.

"Thanks." he says, then leaves.

"...I'm going to do my best for you, too, Lloyd.." Colette whispers to her hands, clenching them in her dress, after the door closes. And then she turns, smiling brightly, and pets Shikka. The big lion purrs, pawing gently at Colette. The smile becomes real.

"Professor, you're still awake.." Lloyd says, spotting Raine at her desk. Genis is already asleep. Piers is down in the bar trying to get Daichi from the bar. He was trying to start a brawl.

"Yes, I've been organizing the data we've collected about monsters." Raine takes off a pair of small glasses. "And what are you doing up at this hour?"

"..I was fixing your Key Crest." Lloyd comes in.

"Thank you, but you mustn't overexert yourself. It's going to be a long journey after all. I don't mind if it takes a while to fix."

"...So." Lloyd says, walking past the beds. There's a loud commotion downstairs. Lloyd and Raine look at the floor.

"...." they both sigh, and Genis rolls over.

* * *

Kratos, on the same level as the noise, stops taking off his cloak, and walks out to see what all the noise is about.

* * *

"... Are you saying it's ok for Genis, Piers and me, as well as Shikka and Daichi, to come along on this journey..?" Lloyd asks.

"... Daichi may prove troublesome." Raine guesses part of the cause of the noise. You can hear Piers yelling spells to subdue Daichi.

* * *

Kratos walks in, and the room, which is likely cold in Piers attempts to subdue the Desian, grows a little colder. Kratos had messed his hair up more than the normal, on the way, and had made it look like he had thrown clothes on to go see what the trouble was.

"...." Kratos surveys the room, then spots Daichi. "..Stop." he tells the man, a flicker of Mana gathering about him.

A few of Daichi's limbs are encased in ice. "What?!" Around Kratos's left hand, a swirl of a spell was forming, runes of Light, Healing, and Fire.

"You are being a nuisance." Kratos tells him, walking forward. "This will help you remember not to get so drunk next time." Kratos places his hand on Daichi's shoulder, and the magic forces him to... quickly absorb the alcohol, and process it, and within a few minutes, he will be in the late hangover stage. Piers growls, quickly freezing Kratos' hand. Seems the boy has learned Cool.

"Hey. What gives?!" Piers snaps. Kratos tilts his head, regarding Piers.

"...'What gives'...?" Kratos asks, and then a flicker of red Mana encircles his hand, and he clenches it, crunching the ice. "I did not hurt the man. I made him get over his intoxication."

"By forcing his body to absorb at an exponential rate... That's wrong." Piers says.

"It didn't damage him." Kratos says, turning to go, not careing about 'wrong'. "The healing Mana I used prevented any harm. He will continue to be able to drink himself into a stupor, but preferably when he is not in the Chosen's party." Kratos pauses, glancing back. "Unless he doesn't intend to come with us, like Ms Sage believes. Then, he may do as he wills."

"I'm sure if you ASKED him, he'd be willing, right?" Daichi groans in response to Piers.

"Or, he would have attempted to attack me in his drunken stupor." Kratos shrugs. "And likely, I might have taken the excuse to actually kill him. Something you obviously do not want."

"Daichi is a reasonable guy..." Piers mutters.

"Even when drunk?" Kratos sounds amused. "It did not seem that way, from what I was hearing in my room. I doubt he would have taken my offer."

* * *

"But wasn't that your intent from the beginning?" Raine smiles at Lloyd. "Stop pretending."

"Hehehe..." Lloyd rubs the back of his head, glancing away. ".. Oh yeah, I fixed the Key Crest, so here, take it."

* * *

"Prove it." Piers says.

"Prove what?" Kratos asks. "He is not inebriated any more, rather in the late stages of the hangover he would have been tomorrow morning when we intended to move out."

"He can't be. You're only hung over if you fall asleep." Piers says.

"Marvels of magic, boy." Kratos says. "It's amazing the things you can do when you practice enough." His lips quirk for a second into a smirk. "I had a friend who could light the blood in your veins on fire with a touch. I never managed that effect. Spontaneous combustion doesn't have the same.. " Kratos paused, searching for a word. "Intimidation factor, that a man screaming in pain as blood evaporates from his body has.." He almost says it fondly, like he missed that.

"I told you not to call me Boy." Piers growls lowly, looking like he's going to be sick.

"Did you?" Kratos asks, tilting his head, completely ignoring Piers's discomfort.

"Numerous times." Piers snaps.

"I'm afraid I don't recall." Kratos says. "The loudness of your friend must have distracted me from any previous statements of the sort, on your part."

"Must you take things literally?" Piers mutters. "We're not kids!"

"Yes." Kratos says, tilting his head. "Things become interesting when you do." This time, he turns and starts for his room.

* * *

Lloyd hands it to the Healer. "You fixed it already? Thank you Lloyd!" Raine has taken the gem and attached it to the slot on the ore.

* * *

Piers makes exasperated noises. He manages to drag Daichi to their room. Kratos does something he's good at, which would be ignoring people, and just sits in the room he's sharing with Lloyd.

* * *

"So this is an Exsphere!" Raine croons at the object.

"Ask Genis to show you how to use it." Lloyd says, backing away from his crazy teacher.

"Zzz..." Genis snores.

"... That is some impressive snoring..." Lloyd mutters, watching Genis. He thinks for a second, and discards the idea.

"Lloyd.." Genis mutters in his sleep.

"Hmm?" Lloyd thinks the boys' awake for a moment, then peers and realizes he isn't. "Is he talking in his sleep?"

"Best friends...." Genis whispers, curling. "...forever...."

"He really is attached to you." Raine says, a soft call to Lloyd. Lloyd watches Genis for a little bit, then turns to Raine.

"Professor, I'm sorry."

"About what?" Raine asks, a little startled.

"I dragged Genis into this." Lloyd says softly.

"Oh.." Raine tilted her head. "That."

"Things wound up like this because I tried to save someone from the ranch without thinking things through." Lloyd says, walking away from Genis's bed.

"... Do you regret what you've done?" Raine asks.

"..I don't know." Lloyd whispers. Lloyd shakes his head, a bit of anger flickering onto his face. "I just couldn't ignore someone suffering right before my eyes…" Raine sighs.

"What you did was morally correct, but was against the law. You can't change what's really happened. But you can change what's going to happen…change yourself as well as the world around you." She offers her bit of philosophy for the night.

Lloyd gives a tiny grin. "I'm gonna go now." He goes to the door. "Good night, Professor." Lloyd leaves the room.

"Heheheheheh! So this is an Exsphere! MARVELOUS!!" Raine's muted cackle doesn't reach Lloyd. He stops on the upper stairway as he hears a door close. Glancing down, he sees Kratos cross the room and exit the inn.

".... Where's he going at this hour?" Lloyd mutters. "... Let's follow him." Piers seems to have the same idea, bumping into Lloyd. Lloyd blinks. "Why are you up?" He asks softly.

"Can't sleep." Piers replies.

"Mmm'k." Lloyd looks at the inn door. "... I'm following Kratos." He confides, heading further down the stairs.

"I'll tag along." Piers replies.

"Mm'k." Lloyd leads the way out of the inn. Kratos is standing before the stable where Noishe is, back to them. Piers follows. He picks up a broken branch, looking it over. Lloyd walks up behind Kratos. Piers sits, starting to whittle at the branch. Kratos suddenly spins, eyes blank and his movements from sheer instinct, blade flicking out to point at Lloyd's throat.

A drop of red shines as Lloyd croaks "Whoa!", stopping short. Piers looks up, hand on hilt. Kratos freezes, and eyes puzzled, before they clear a bit.

".... Lloyd." Kratos says, slowly, showing that he recognized the boy, straitening and pulling his blade back. He cleans it, and then sheaths, turning away. "I'm sorry to have startled you." His voice is empty, like a machine. Piers continues with his whittling, slowly forming a staff.

"Star..startled isn't the word for it!" Lloyd says, gingerly touching his throat. Kratos glances at the boy, and the healing spell he uses so often flickers around his hand, then Lloyds neck.

"You'd best not stand behind me." Kratos crosses his arms.

"I won't.." Lloyd promises. Carefully, he approaches from Kratos's side, leaning on the rail of the stable. "... Do you like animals?" Lloyd asks.

"...No." Kratos says, slowly. "Not particularly..."

"...well." Lloyd scratches behind one of his dog's large ears. "Noishe seems to be quite comfortable with you." Noishe whines. "He usually doesn't like strangers. Took him a while to get used to Piers."

"About two months." Piers calls over. Lloyd nods, and Kratos gives a slight tilt of his head.

"... I once had a pet, long ago." Still, Kratos spoke without any real feeling in his voice, slowly, reaching a large palmed hand over to gently pet Noishe's side.

"Really?" Lloyt tilts his head, trying to mentally guess the man's age. How long could it be, the man didn't look too old. Most of the time. There were times when he stared into space, and his eyes were dead, dull, and old.. Like now, as he stared at Noishe.

Piers walks over. "I had a cat. Not as intelligent as Noishe, though."

"Cats are nice, but Noishe is awesome. Colette likes Dogs." Lloyd says.

"Lloyd?" Kratos might have guessed some of what was going through the boy's head, and regarded the teens upturned face silently. After a few seconds, it was starting to creep him out.

"..wh..what?" Lloyd shifts. "What are you staring at me like that for?" Like he was looking for something.. Piers glances at the two, hopping over the stable door, putting an arm around Noishe and showing him the half-finished staff.

"What do you think of it so far?" he asks Noishe. Noishe regards it, then whines, flicking his ears, up and down, then settles them up.

"... Your swordsmanship is unrefined." Kratos says suddenly, turning around. "You should focus more on eliminating your vulnerabilities." Kratos walks off for the inn, pausing a little behind the confused Lloyd. "If you care about your life." And then the man returns to the inn. Lloyd twitches.

"Its not finished yet." Piers looks up at Lloyd. "Still got energy to burn?" Lloyd snarls, throwing his hands into the air.

"Just because he's a little better than me, he has to talk like he knows EVERYTHING!" Lloyd rants to the air, his voice climbing. He realizes this, and the current late hour, and forcibly calms himself. Noishe whines, and barks, and whines some more, sounding both soothing and admonishing. "... Well.. A lot better than me.. damn!" Lloyd mutters.

"Take that as a yes." Piers puts a hand on Lloyd's shoulder.

"... He was making some sort of sense, in a non-jerk way." Lloyd sighs, angry energy vanishing. "... And then he said two sentences, and it all was gone." Noishe whines. "... He's a jerk." Lloyd decides. "A crazy jerk."

"Lloyd...Wanna practice with me? I need to train, too." Piers asks.

Lloyd rubs the back of his head. "... Its barely before midnight..." he says, glancing up at the sky. "And Raine said we're joining them. Which means tomorrow we head for the seal.... or is it today." he scowls at the sky.

"That didn't answer my question... But... If you're tired." Piers sighs.

Lloyd grins. "Sorry. I had to concentrate on carving that crest..." He yawns this time. "...cause if its wrong..." he blinks. "... yeah, tired..." he starts zombie-walking for the inn.

Piers smiles lightly. "Oh, to be young again..." He whispers, watching Lloyd leave. Lloyd wanders into the room, pointedly ignoring the mercenary who lay on his side, facing the door. He stared for a moment at the sword, which was tucked under the pillow, before shaking his head and shedding his boots. Piers remains outside, staring at the sky, thinking. He was still. Kratos closes his eyes completely as Lloyd snuffles into sleep, blanket half over his body.

* * *

September 6th

* * *

Lloyd blinks at the dawn light. Dawn. His sleepy mind noted. "Morning!" he yelps, sitting up with a start. Kratos's bed was already vacated and neatened up, the mercenary's belongings gone. Lloyd hastily dressed, and still with one boot half on, jacket undone, darted out the room and inn.

Piers is dozing against the wall, cracking open an eye. "Oh. Is it morning?" Lloyd nods, grabbing some bread out of the inns kitchen and shoving it in his mouth as he finished doing up all 1001 buttons on his jacket. Kratos, Colette, Raine and Genis are already outside. Daichi glares at Kratos. Shikka is standing behind Colette rather protectively. Piers turns up. Kratos does what he does best, and ignores Daichi, staring blankly into space by the inn. He notices the remaining two of their rapidly growing party, and turns for the exit.

"We can finally head out to release the seal." Kratos says.

"Yes, I'll do my best." Colette says, smiling.

"The seal Remiel spoke of is in the Triet Ruins to the south west of here." Raine has a map out, touching the point.

"...Ruins?" Piers glances at Genis.

Genis looks a bit worried. "If that's where the seal is.." he shrugs.

"Cool!" Lloyd finished inhaling his hurried breakfast. "Let's go check out that seal!"

Genis sighs. "Let's see how long that enthusiasm lasts..."

"I'll be fine!" Lloyd snaps, crossing his arms. "Just you watch!"

"Bet on it?" Piers smirks.

"50 Gald that we don't even get in the Ruins before he gets worn out." Genis says, offering his hand.

"Or I have to bail him out." Piers takes Genis' hand.

"I'm right here." Lloyd grumbles. Raine shakes her head.

"Oh, I just remembered. Let me give you this." Raine pulls a book out of her pack, titled Monster List. "Gathering data on your enemies is useful for protecting the Chosen." Raine says.

"I...I'm going to do it?" Lloyd asks.

"I'll help too. Goddess knows your handwriting with a pencil is horrible. Think of it as homework." Raine reassures the boy.

".... ewwww..." Lloyd dislikes homework, but he pockets the book before Raine can hit him. Piers pulls out the branch. He starts to carve it again. Kratos tilts his head, looking amused.. but bored with all this. His eyes slide back to the desert.

"... We should get going." Kratos says, starting for the entrance. Daichi is out of his uniform, wearing his under armor clothes. Having ripped the sleeves off the shirt and tying the bandana around his head, he passes for a human fighter.

"I hate sand." Daichi mutters. It takes them all of the day to reach the remainders of pillars that mark the edge of the Triet Ruins. Piers glances at Lloyd to check on his condition. Lloyd is exhausted via heat.

"ah... so hot..." Lloyd mutters. "Man... I'm beat."

"See?" Genis says, grinning, although less energetic than he normally was. "You're already worn out."

"... I'm sick of this desert." Lloyd kicks some sand.

"Looks like I owe you 50 Gald. Anyone want a drink of water?" Piers asks.

Raine indicates their water canteens. "Although you're a water mage." she says, also looking worn down from the heat. "It would be best if we used what we're carrying first. Less to continue to carry." Kratos surveys the party, only the slightest hint of weariness clinging to him- despite the fact he's wearing dark purple in a desert.

"We'll camp here tonight." Kratos says.

"Daichi is, too." Piers points out.

"Yeah. One spell. That's all." Daichi seems to be a bit touchy about his magical competence.

"We'll just have to work on training, then, won't we?" Genis asks. The boy already knows three. Lloyd pulls out a handful small slats of wood, and each has a name on it.

"Dinner-duty!" Lloyd says, finding a small sack as well. "Name drawn gets to cook!" a wooden rattle later and Lloyd draws out a slat.

"Genis!" Lloyd says, picking the small bit of wood with his youngest friends name on it.

"All right!" Genis says, as Colette and Raine pick out the cooking utensils. "Curry!" the boy decides, and sets to cooking as the day swiftly gets dark. Shikka sits away and with his back to the rest of the group. He seems to be swirling and playing with the sand.

Lloyd wanders over. "...Whatcha doing?" he asks.

Shikka looks up. "Hm? Oh. Nothing..."

Lloyd plops himself down next to Shikka. "I think you're lying."

"Oh? What makes you say that?" Shikka asks.

"Well.." Lloyd says, shifting. trying to figure out why he thinks so. "... I know I don't really know you... but you were REALLY quiet at that Ranch... and now you're still really quiet... and it's a different kind of quiet than.. Kratos's quiet."

"You're right." Shikka smiles lightly.

"Yeah.." Lloyd rubs his nose. "Kratos's quiet is a creepy, 'I just don't care kind' of quiet." he glances over at Shikka. "yours, I think.. it's more like a sad kind of quiet. melody kind of quiet."

"Melancholy." Shikka corrects. "Right again. Its...Like my past is haunting me."

"You want to share?" Lloyd asks, a bit softer than his normal enthusiastic. "It helps, a bit. at least, I think it did, talking to the Professor."

Shikka smiles. "Well...My old master...had a son. A lot like you. He was about your age...and I killed him."

Lloyd blinks. "....Why?" he asks, not to completely horrified. he'd killed people recently too. Something that kept him up some nights.

"I-It was an accident. But it was still my fault." Shikka says.

Lloyd watches. "Kinda the same here, but I broke a rule on purpose... and then people died that weren't involved..."

Shikka closes his eyes. "I think it as an accident... We got attacked. I fended them off. I was so consumed with rage, with bloodlust... I attacked him. And killed him. I've bore the mark on my back ever since..."

"Mark?" Lloyd asks, confused, but a flying green and white fuzz ball distracted him. Noishe pounces on the teen, who yelps. Shikka smiles at Noishe, almost glad for the distraction. It felt...rather good to talk about it. Noishe is thoroughly cleaning Lloyd's face once again, even as the teen spluttered and tried to force the large animal off him. Noishe rolls one eye to focus on Shikka, and winks. Shikka frowns, wondering if, perhaps, Noishe was jealous. He reaches to pet the 'dog.' Noishe lets him, and gets off Lloyd to better prezent a good petting spot.

"Bleh!" Lloyd makes a face, wiping his face off before sand stuck to it.

Shikka chuckles. "Jealousy is a sin." He whispers to Noishe. Noishe gives him an interesting look, another of those all too human glances. Well, if human was what one thought of as highly intelligent. Maybe just expressive. this one read 'why do you think I'm jealous?' Shikka merely chuckles, petting the dog. "You wanted to see my...Mark, right?"

Lloyd tilts his head, finishing his rub-down of his face. "If you're comfortable, I'm curious."

Shikka turns, lifting his shirt. His back has a spiky emblem seared deep into the flesh. "That means I'm a Beorc Killer. A wild animal."

Lloyd looks at the symbols in the center. "that's what it says, too, right?" he asks, a bit curious. Noishe turns to eye Shikka's back, then licks Lloyd's face again. "Bla!" he falls back.

"Yeah. It still hurts." Shikka lowers his shirt. "I'm scared that it might happen again..."

"Why?" Lloyd asks, holding Noishe's muzzle shut and away from his face, ignoring the puppy eyes his pet was sending him... and the fact that the muzzle was definitely large enough to bite down and possibly snap his arm.

"Why do you think? What if my next target is you. Or Colette? If I killed the Chosen... I can't control my animal instincts." Shikka says.

"I.. don't think Kratos will let anyone kill Colette." Lloyd shudders. "And if it's just animal instincts, you have to tell those instincts that we're not people that you get to hurt." Lloyd nods.

"If it were that easy..." Shikka sighs. "Maybe the Beorc are right. Maybe we are just animals. Sub-human..." Lloyd raps Shikka upside the head with his knuckles. "Ghk...Wh-What was...Ow..." Shikka grumbles.

"Dork." Lloyd pronounces.

"Wh-What...?" The Laguz looks puzzled.

"It's like idiot. But different." Lloyd crosses his arms, scowling. "Even if you can turn into a cat, that doesn't make you different. You have hopes, dreams, feelings." Lloyd nods. "You're the same, you just can do things other people can't. Like Genis can't use a sword, or two like me, but I can't use any magic what so ever."

"That's...true." Shikka sighs. "Being a slave...changed me...being away from my people...from father..." Noishe wanders off a bit.

"I imagine being a slave would change anyone." Lloyd jumps, recognizing that voice. Kratos is leaning against the ruins of a pillar nearby, footprints in the sand behind him.

"How long have you been there?" Lloyd asks.

"Dinner is ready." Kratos turns and walks back to camp.

"Is he human? He's so silent..." Shikka stands, stretching.

"No idea." Lloyd mutters, standing. "He uses Magic, so he has to be part elf, because Elves can only use magic. Maybe he's half-Elven." Kratos ignores their speculation.

"Aren't these...Desians half-elf?" Shikka asks.

"Yeah. Daichi's one too. But not all Half-Elves are Desians." Lloyd says.

"Not all Desians are Half-Elves." Kratos tells them, glancing back.

"What?" Lloyd is confused.

"The 'Fallen'. It is the term for Humans who side with Desians." Kratos says.

"Just like Daichi sided with us." Shikka mumbles.

"Not.. entirely." Kratos has a grim twist of lips that could be a smile for all of a fraction of a second.

"... Why?" Lloyd asks.

"Desians are an organization, with leaders, and leaders above them, bent on cutting down human kind." Kratos says, slowing his pace a tad to delay the time it took to get back to camp. "We are not bent on the destruction of the Desians, no matter how much I would enjoy that." Lloyd shivers at the change in the mercenaries tone at that last bit.

"Minorities often feel like the destruction of the opposing race. I, myself, have often thought that I should...Kill. Slaughter every human. Pay them back." Shikka growls.

"Which came first?" Kratos murmurs. "The hatred of the humans for half-elves, or the half-elves fear and hate of humans, giving birth to Desians..?" Lloyd looks confused, barely hearing that comment, but they had returned to camp.

Genis turns. "There you are. Hurry before Noishe eats it." Noishe gives an offended whine, and Kratos moves for one of the fallen columns. Shikka takes his food, eating it, still quiet, but more contemplating than sad. Lloyd inhales food rapidly, and complements Genis on his food. Kratos had taken his bowl to the fallen pillar where he sat, back to the party.

"Kratos has called taking the Night watch." Raine says, as they scrub their bowls out with some old cloths, and sand. Piers has fell asleep long ago to conserve his power. Daichi still seems rather moody.

"All of night watch?" Lloyd gapes.

"Yes." Raine nods, and Kratos returns to those around the fire long enough to return his cleaned bowl, and then takes his spot on the rock again. Noishe has posted himself next to the man as well. Shikka is away from the circumference of light given by the fire. He seems to be fixated on it, as though expecting it to attack him. Lloyd has fallen asleep, and after banking the fire, Genis does so as well, Colette watches her friends, then turns to Shikka, puzzled by his fixation.

"Are you ok?" Colette bends over to interrupt his line of sight.

"O-Oh...Yeah. Just...Don't like fire. Hate it..." He looks at Colette. "You should get some sleep. Big day tomorrow." Shikka smiles lightly, curling up, being the last to sleep.


	9. Hot Sand

* * *

September 7th

* * *

Lloyd wakes when the sound of a fire bursting into life reaches his ears. With a yelp, he sits up. Kratos ignores him as he feeds the fire.

Daichi stirs awake. "Mph...What's goin' on?"

"Kratos startled me." Lloyd brushes it off, and some of the sand in his hair as well. Kratos turns, and goes back to his favored pillar, as Genis wakes with the voices, and Raine rolls over, muttering about ruins, and Colette sits up, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

Daichi sits up, yawning. He, too, shakes sand from his hair. "Did I mention that I hate the desert?"

"I think you did..." Lloyd mutters, rubbing his eyes as well. Raine wakes completely, and spots Shikka.

"Noishe, did you roll in sand after cleaning yourself?" Raine asks. The large dog whines at her from where he was trying to wake Piers with the 'cold wet nose' treatment. "...." Her eyes widen.

Piers flails awake. "Noishe!" He sits up, pushing the overgrown puppy away from him. "What's everyone staring at?"

"...Incredible!" Raine crows, standing and moving over to Shikka. "I was unaware that felines could grow to such sizes!" Raine moves to run her fingers through Shikka's fur.

"Uhh.." Lloyd says, with a spoon half in his mouth. Shikka blinks up at Raine having just woken up. He stretches and yawns. Raine immediately pounces on him, running her hands through his thick main.

"I've never seen a feline with this much hair about the neck! Extraordinary!" the teens are drawing a bit back from the Professor, and Kratos looks like he's wondering where all the sanity has gone. Shikka looks scarred for life, flailing beneath Raine. Kratos seems to remember there was no sanity in the first place, and then ignores this all. Noishe stops trying to clean Piers, and heads on to sneak behind Raine.

"Not a good idea, Noishe.." Lloyd whispers, eyes wide.

"Amazing! And this is Shikka? Can you speak the common tongue while in this form?" Raine is oblivious to the sneaking Noishe.

"Uh...Yeah...Can you get off me?" Shikka has a whine in his voice.

"Remarkable!" Raine crows, backing up a little bit, but still keeping her hands in his fur. "How does the feline vocal cords produce the correct vocal-vibrations?! is it because of their larger size?!" She yelps, as Noishe gently grabs the back of her coat and shirt, and pulls her off Shikka. The animal was large enough to do so, and hold her there as well, backing up. Shikka stands, shaking the sand off before reverting back 4nto human form, stretching. Noishe gives Shikka a 'good choice' look, before releasing the healer, and fleeing as she chased him. Genis and Lloyd laugh at the pet.

Shikka winces. "Scary..." He whines slightly.

"It's OK." Colette says, coming up with a bowl of oatmeal. "She only threatens to dissect things." she doesn't realize this isn't the most comforting thing to say, Genis distracting his sister with food as well, while Lloyd brings one each for Daichi and Piers. Shikka has an x.x face as he eats. Daichi seems to have enjoyed the show, but is still moody. Piers yawns, still wiping Noishe's nose damp off him. Raine eventually calms down, they finish eating, pack up camp, and Kratos dissipates the fire with a bit of magic, picking up the now cool wood-remains and putting them into a sack for later use. Genis appears curious of the spell used, but isn't inclined to ask the man. They get ready to head for the ruins themselves. Daichi starts practicing Aqua.

Genis moves to watch. "This is Aqua Edge." he focuses for a short amount of time, then three rings of water form, and slice through the desert, hovering at a half-foot above the ground. They start walking into the ruins, more and more pillars around the winding path that Kratos finds. Noishe halts, whining.

"If I can't master Aqua, how am I supposed to master the second level." Daichi moans.

"Aqua Edge is the second level?" Genis asks, confused. "I didn't know that.."

"what's wrong, Noishe?" Lloyd pauses as Noishe whines again. Kratos halts, drawing his sword.

"Be on your guard." Kratos raises the blade to his shoulder level. "There are enemies about!" A pair of floating, round stones approach, the air heating in a mirage-shimmer about them, a few pot-like things as well. Daichi and Piers cast Aqua at exactly the same time, nailing a pot-being. Shikka shifts, pouncing at a floaty stone. the floaty stone cracks, revealing a ball of fire inside, sections of it floating out to create a barrier of sorts. Lloyd darts in, the other stone moves the square sections about the middle out in a beat, a red circle under it.

"Stop the Magic!" Kratos barks, slamming his blade into a pot creature that was too close to Colette.

Piers casts Diamond Dust. "Stand back!" He warns. The main target was the Fire Element. The ice coats it, then explodes. Lloyd crosses his blades in defense, blocking the shards from hitting his face and upper torso, and a minty green bubble covers Kratos from head to feet, deflecting the shards of the monster that came flying.

Piers smirks. "SuperCool!" He points at the pot-being, it being skewered by a large icicle. The monster that Shikka had pounced on shudders, and as Kratos retracts his blade, it dissipates.

"... This is going to be a nuisance..." Kratos sighs, watching as Lloyd puts out a fire on one of his weapons.

"What is?" Lloyd asks, looking at the singed spot. Shikka flinches from the flames.

"Ah." Kratos apparently didn't realize Lloyd would hear him say that. "Nothing." he sheathes his blade, turning to survey the party. "... Anyway, it would be a good idea for you to learn techniques to protect yourself." He addresses them all, and none in particular.

"Are you talking about self-defense training?" Colette asks, strapping her rings together and sliding them back under her cloak.

"Something like that.." Kratos has an interesting note in his voice. "Techniques to raise your defense during battles." He makes a slight shift in stance, and the green bubble forms around him again. "I'll show you how it's done. Once you grasp the theory, the rest should be easy.." he sounds like he might doubt that some of them will grasp it easily, bubble shrinking, vanishes. Piers knows that he can't learn it at all. Daichi doesn't seem wanting to defend. Lloyd learns one called Guardian, the Sages Force Field, and Colette learns Damage Guard. they all look the same, but they have to call out the names of the skill before it will appear. Apparently, Kratos was good at this.

"Ok!" Lloyd cheers. "I don't really get it, but I already feel stronger! I can't wait to try it out!" Lloyd says, pleased.

"I think you're just imagining things..." Genis sighs, shaking his head.

"Hmm?" Raine notices something missing. Something large, green and white. "What happened to Noishe?" Lloyd looks startled.

"I think he ran that-away." Piers points toward the exit.

"You're right. He's gone." Lloyd looks at the sand around them. "Ah, man, He's run off again." Kratos tilts his head.

"He's probably nervous about the monsters." Kratos turns for the path once again. "I think it would be best not to count on Noishe in places with monsters around.." Kratos finds their path again, and continues on.

They reach the remains of a stone building, a floor, a door, and a slat that looks different than the surrounding stone. a small pillar by the side.

"Say, is this the seal?" Colette walks over to the small pillar. "It has my family's crest on it..."

"Fantastic~3!" Raine cries, clasping her hands. Lloyd, Genis, and Colette look a mix of startled, and horrified. Kratos looks at the woman, then proceeds to ignore this. "Look at this slab covering the entrance!! It's clearly of a different composition than the surrounding stone!" Raine walks up to it."Hahaha~! It's just as I thought!" She crouches, running her hands along the slab.

"Shouldn't we hurry up and unleash the seal?" Piers says, shifting in the heat. Raine ignores this.

"This is polycarbonate, developed during the Ancient War to defend against magic! Oh, feel the smooth surface! It's wondrous! ?" Raine says, rubbing her cheek against the surface. Kratos appears a tiny bit disturbed.

"... Is she always like this...?" Kratos asks of Lloyd. Raine turns and examines the small pillar.

"..Is she?" Lloyd asks of Genis. Genis sighs.

"Take that as a yes." Daichi mumbles.

"..I've been trying so hard to hide it, too." Genis mutters. Raine appears to be reading the small pillar.

"Hmmm? This depression..." she traces some runes. "It reads, Oracle Stone." turning she beckons to Colette. "Colette, place your hand here. That should reveal the entrance."

"Really?" Lloyd looks at the simple stone pedestal.

"This Stone is enchanted with magic designed to identify the Chosen." Raine says. "there's no question about it." Raine moves asides so Colette can place her hand on the pedestal, and the polycarbonate slab moves into the side of the floor, releasing hotter air, and fire Mana.

"It opened!" Colette cheers. "Wow! I guess I really am the Chosen after all!" Watch as Lloyd, Genis, and Kratos sweat-drop.

"Yes, I think we all know that already." Genis shakes his head.

"I-I am gonna stay out here." Shikka says.

"Are you sure?" Colette asks, as Lloyd looks down the stairs.

"Ok! Now it's getting Exciting! Let's hurry up and go inside!" Lloyd looks enthusiastic, despite the heat.

"....I hope you will be able to maintain that enthusiasm...." Kratos mutters.

"Wanna bet on it?" Piers asks.

Shikka nods. "I-I can't handle fire. At all. Beast Laguz have a weakness to it, but...I just hate it." Kratos ignores Piers, but Genis shakes his head.

"There'll be fighting, I bet he won't get bored." Genis says.

"Oh..." Colette tilts her head. "So, are you sure you want to stay out here...?"

"I-I don't want to risk hurting people when I panic..." Shikka says, looking uncomfortable.

"Will you be OK?" Colette asks, even as Lloyd starts down the stairs, Raine and Genis behind.

"Yeah. Don't worry about me. Worry about releasing the seal." Shikka smiles. "Thank...Thank you."

"you're welcome!" Colette says, smiling.

"We will be gone most of the day." Kratos tells Shikka, before following Colette down into the ruins.

"That's fine. I like the desert. The quiet." Shikka says.

It's a long corridor, which reaches a circle-wall, with a door ahead, and to paths that loop around. the heat intensifies, but since it isn't sun heat, Lloyd seems to be fine. that red jacket of his must be a weird cloth. they finish a puzzle that involves using the Sorcerer's Ring to light torches, which raises platforms from the lava below them to heights that allow them to reach stairs, a few chests, and finally, a warp panel. Lloyd now has a pair of actual blades, since his wooden ones didn't last long against the Fire Birds and Fire Warriors that inhabited the Seal, curtsey of a chest. Daichi's casting speed gets better as they proceed through the temple. There was one close encounter with a chest that tried to eat Lloyd's hand, and it was resistant to all attacks. They wisely took the choice of fleeing for that battle, picking up a small collection of Red Quartz from enemies. The small crystals radiated heat, and Kratos paused them to show a small slot on their weapons, a standard feature, where the crystals could be placed. Piers heals any wounds with a burst of Ply. The second he places the quartz into the slot on his own blade as demonstration, fire wreathed it, then he knocked it back out, reminding them that Fire monsters won't be vulnerable to fire. they are currently gathered around the Warp. Colette, followed by Kratos, her Shadow, warp first. Piers is healing a nasty burn on Daichi's exposed arm. Raine follows, and then Lloyd.

"You two ready?" Genis asks, waiting before the warp pad.

"Yeah." Piers replies, the two joining Genis. Genis warps.

"This place is also built with Magitechnology!" Raine crows, looking at the surroundings. the room was cooler in there, despite the faintly visible sparks of fire Mana that floated in the air. "Absolutely Fantastic!" In the center of the room, is a similar altar to the one in the Martel Temple, but this one seemed to have more to it.

Piers looks around. "Wow..." Colette in the lead, they approach the Altar. it reacts, metal bars shooting into the air, a swirl of the same red Mana flaring into existence. Kratos reacts, drawing his blade.

"Ahh!" Genis shivers. "What the...?" the fire Mana in the air pools in, and forms three long shapes, two the same size, one much larger. Piers hands crackle with newfound Mana. Daichi draws his Axe. A large cat-tiger-thing, with large spikes running down its back, and two smaller, more raptor like creatures, but of the same patterning and spikes. Raine whips out one of the small lenses.

"Ktugach!" she shouts. "Water and Ice!"

"Two Ktugachlings!" Genis also has one. "They're both weaker than Vidarr, that big old Desian guy!" Lloyd nods, turning his sights on the large one.

"Tundra!" A storm of ice blasts at one of the smaller creatures, courtesy of Piers.

"Aqua Edge!" Daichi yells, firing the water bullets at the creatures. "D-Did I...?"

"Focus." Kratos barks, as Lloyd attempts to attack the Ktugach, and gets a tail-whip for his troubles. Lloyd yelps, flying backwards, and flips in the air to land on his feet before Genis. Again, green lights flicker about party members, although its Raine this time. Kratos is rather acrobatic, out there distracting the Ktugach and the Ktugachlings. one of his cape-tails is smoking. Piers keeps pelting the big guy with Tundra. Daichi goes in with his Axe drawn, joining Kratos in the distraction.

"Icicle!" Genis gets a new spell, a small glacier of ice striking up from the ground under one of the Ktugachlings, and with a cry, partially because the boy had aimed the spell under the creatures two legs, it vanishes in red Mana sparks. Lloyd jumps back into action, and with a slight glance shared between him and Kratos, use a co-op attack called Cross Thrust.

"SuperCool!" A larger series of icicles rise below the remaining smaller...thing. This one too vanishes, and Lloyd joins Kratos and Daichi in tormenting the Ktugach. With a swipe of hits head, it knocks into Daichi, then opens its mouth to roar flames at Colette, Raine and Genis.

Piers blinks. "Deluge!" Orbs of water fly at the flames. Raine holds her staff out horizontal, and her Force Field spell reaches the other two back-liners, protecting them from the fire that isn't taken care of by Pier's spell. Kratos dashes in, stooping to stand under the monsters jaw as he slices at its neck. Piers watches the monster, panting. It makes a ruined scream, and flops to the side, Kratos backtracking and Lloyd jumping away as it crashes to the ground, and vanishes. The Fire-Mana spirals out more, the bars shooting up once more to form some sort of light-holding like pattern, before a silhouette, of a buff torso and arms, small head, obscures part of it. the silhouette vanishes, and the bars hiss back down. The Mana remains there, but dims a little as the golden-yellow light starts back up.

"You, Chosen of Regeneration. Offer your prayers at the altar." Remiel's disembodied voice calls out.

"..Yes, My Lord.." Colette moves from next to Raine, walking past the slightly sooty companions, and kneels before the altar. "Oh Goddess Martel, great protector and nurturer of the earth, grant me thy strength!" Daichi watches, awed. He's never seen this. The spiral of red flows out, dissipating. a golden spark floats down, and flashes brighter, then reveals Remiel, exactly the same as last time. He gives a single flap of his wings.

"Colette, my daughter." Remiel says, his slightly glassy eyes only on the girl. "You have done well."

"A-an angel...A real angel..." Daichi mumbles, awed.

"Thank you... fa..ther.." Colette stumbles with the last bit, standing. Remiel doesn't react, and according to Kratos, the walls are more interesting.

"The Guardian of the Seal has fallen." Remiel proclaims."And the First Seal has been unleashed. Efreet will surely awaken soon. In the name of the Cruxis, I shall grant you the power of the Angels."

"Thank you, My Lord." Colette says, keeping her hands clasped in prayer. Purple-pink lights, a quartet of them, descend from Remiel's level and spiral down to Colette. she watches them, as to the other teens and Raine, fascinated, until they all dive in for her Cruxis crystal. with a faint twitch, the back of her cloak shifts, and wings of light, shaped like wedges of pink to purple, spread.

Daichi blinks. "A-Amazing..." Colette blinks, and shifts her arms, the new appendages slowly flap once or twice, then settle for a gentle fanning back and forth, shedding small sparkles of Mana, and pale pink-purple feathers, like down. She flaps once more, and floats upwards, despite the small size of her wings.

"The Angel Transformation will not be without pain." Remiel says solemnly. "Yet, it is but for one night."

"Angel Toxicosis...The rumors are true, then." Daichi mutters to himself.

"Be strong, and endure." Remiel continues, he doesn't seem to register anyone but Colette.

"I humbly accept this trial." Colette says.

"The next seal lies far to the east, across the sea." Remiel says. "Offer your prayers at that temple."

"Yes, Lord Remiel." Remiel vanishes, leaving white feathers that don't vanish like Colette's upon touching the ground.

Daichi picks up a white feather. "Wow..."

"I shall await you at the next seal, the Chosen of Regeneration, my beloved daughter, Colette." Remiel's voice echoes, and fades. Colette flaps her wings, and descends, turning around. Lloyd finds his tongue.

"Colette... has wings!" Lloyd says, awed.

"Uh-huh, and look, I can put them away too." Colette partially turns, and they vanish.

"This is so awesome." Daichi mutters, watching Colette.

"Oh, wow!" Genis rushes up to the step below Colette's. "That's so cool!"

"Here, look, look!" Colette poofs her wings out and in, flapping them rapidly, kicking up a small cloud of Mana Sparkles, and Genis jumps up and down excitedly.

"He said the next place is across the sea!" Lloyd says to the people next to him, Raine and Kratos on one side. "That means we get to sail on a ship! Haha! I can't wait!"

"Me either! I miss the ocean." Piers says, speaking up.

"A ship.." Raine looks a tiny bit green. "Hmm.. I wonder if there are any ships sailing with the way things are right now..."

"We should head to the coast to see what we can find, before making finite plans." Kratos says, turning for the exit-warp. Lloyd turns to Genis and Colette, who are still playing with her wings.

"Ok, you two." Lloyd grins. "We get it already. That's enough." Colette slows her wings, and then poofs them away.

"Ok." The two teens say in chorus.

Daichi stows the feather in a safe pocket... "I cast Aqua Edge..." He mutters, remembering. Kratos is waiting by the warp, arms crossed in what seems to be his standard stance. Colette hops down the platform, and leads the way out. Lloyd seems to be in a bit of thought, watching Colette's back. Kratos steps onto the warp before Colette, and then both vanish. It doesn't take them long to leave, a strait path out, and all the monsters seemed to have vanished. They come out into the late-desert evening. Shikka is laying atop a sand dune in lion form. He seems to be taking a catnap. Noishe is curled up next to Shikka, large tail over his nose. Colette spots them, and smiles, making her way over, when she collapses.

* * *


	10. Trial by Fire

"Colette!" Lloyd yelps, moving over quickly to kneel by the girl as she sits up. "Are you ok?" Shikka reverts to human form, running over, too, kneeling by Colette. Genis moves around by Lloyd, Raine by Colette's other side, Kratos a pace or two farther back.

"I'm.. fine.." Colette whispers, struggling to stand, and then remaining sitting.

"You don't look fine at all!" Genis wails. "Your face is completely white! It's all my fault. I got carried away and kept making her puller her wings in and out!"

"I don't think that has anything to do with it..." Lloyd says.

Daichi approaches. "I heard rumors. I think this is a trial." Raine is about to turn Colette to get a clear look at the teens face, when Kratos steps in, scooping the girl up. she makes a slight eep noise.

"What are you doing?" Raine asks, angry. "We need to take her to a doctor, her lips are turning purple!" Kratos is heading for their campsite.

"It is best not to move her." Kratos says. "The Desian is correct - remember the Angel's words."

"I heard its called Angel Toxication...or Toxicosis...Something with Toxic in it." Daichi says vaguely. Raine peers, interested, at Daichi.

"The Angel Transformation process requires her to overcome a trial. Rather than taking her to a doctor, it would be best to let her rest here."

"I'm... ok." Colette whispers. "I'll be fine after a little rest. I'm sorry to cause so much trouble..."

Piers walks by Colette's head, sighing. "Trouble? You gotta go through this. If a little trouble saves the world, then we'll accept it."

"Stop apologizing all the time, you dork!" Lloyd thinks better of trying to rap his friend on the head with his knuckles. "It's not as if you can help it. You were suddenly turned into an angel."

"..You're right.." Colette sighs. "I'm sorry."

"...well... anyway.." Lloyd sighs, then races ahead of Kratos. "Let's set up camp before it gets dark." Shikka shifts back into lion form, his paws managing to pad the sand better. He runs up beside Lloyd. Noishe joins them, and Lloyd gets the fire going while Noishe noses open a bed-roll, which Lloyd thoughtfully dropped for the dog. Kratos keeps to his slow pace, ignoring the girl in his arms as she attempted to make conversation, albeit awkwardly.

Shikka looks back. "I can carry her. My fur'll be softer than your arms."

Kratos tilts his head, flicking his eyes from the camp to Shikka. "... If the Chosen wishes." he says, eyes returning to the camp.

"Um.. We're.. nearly to the camp.." Colette mutters. "So.. it's fine.." she seems to be cold. Kratos deposits her in the bedroll, then Raine moves over to tend. Shikka lies beside Colette's bedroll. Seems he's taken to protecting the girl. Lloyd is shunted aside for Raine, and he wanders. Wandering on Kratos's side of the fire, Genis was cooking again, the mercenary calls to him.

"Your Exsphere has an unusual color." Kratos's eyes flick from the fire, to Lloyd's hand. True enough, Lloyd's Exsphere is a purple, rather than the blue of the rest of the Exspheres.

"It does seem to be a little different from yours and the others." Lloyd says, looking at his Exsphere. "By the way, why do you have an Exsphere?"

"I took one from a Desian." Kratos says, despite the question was why, not how. "I heard that the Desians force the humans at the ranch to make them." Kratos turns the subject to a related one.

"So that's why Marble had an Exsphere too.." Lloyd mutters. "..How do they make Exspheres?" Lloyd asks. "If its attached to them, isn't it already made?" Kratos seems to freeze up, like he'd turned into a statue, his eyes slowly moving off Lloyd.

".... I don't know." Kratos says.

"..." Lloyd doesn't completely look like he buys this.

"Is it all right if I ask you something as well?" it was a tad-bit awkward sounding, the way Kratos phrased it. But perhaps the man wasn't used to asking questions.

"Oh.. okay. Sure." Lloyd says, expecting some sort of question on his swordsmanship that would turn generally mean.

"Why were you raised by a dwarf?" Kratos asks, turning his attention back to the slightly startled boy. "You appear to be full human."

"..Dad found me collapsed in the forest along with Mom and Noishe." Lloyd says. "Although, what really happened was that we were attacked by Desians." Daichi glances up but returns to polishing his Axe.

"...I see." Kratos says, turning his attention back to the fire. "From the sound of that, your father is probably not alive either." his voice was back to cool and empty.

"...Probably not." Lloyd admits.

"So the Desians are responsible for the deaths of your parents..." Kratos seems to be thinking aloud, glancing back at Lloyd from his seat. "Your life has been completely torn apart by them." Daichi coughs. Although it had nothing to do with him, he felt guilty. Lloyd glances at Daichi. was Kratos trying to figure out why Lloyd had accepted the man?

"Huh?"

"Your mother was killed, and then you were chased out of your village." Because of them, was the rest of that sentence, Kratos watching Lloyd.

"yeah.. I guess you're right." Lloyd says.

"...People are..." Kratos turns away from Lloyd. "Hopelessly powerless..." Daichi sighs. He stares into the fire. He had done stuff like that...

"Yes, they are." Lloyd agrees. "But you can't blame others for that weakness." Kratos blinks, glancing back up at the boy, appearing a tiny bit startled. "That's why I'm going to grow stronger. I'm going to become powerful and defeat the Desians."

"..I see." Kratos goes back to staring at the fire. "Then, no matter what awaits ahead, you must not forget that determination." Lloyd appears to have realized something, and shoves his hands into his pocket.

"... Why am I talking to you about this, anyway?" Lloyd asks, but Kratos doesn't answer, and Lloyd turns to find Piers. Piers is on his back, staring at the stars. Lloyd looks at Piers, then up at the sky.

"Stargazing?" Lloyd asks, sitting down.

"Yeah. It's so peaceful.." He looks at Lloyd. "Can I help, or d'ya just wanna talk?"

"I like stargazing." Lloyd says. "That one.. is the Warrior." Lloyd points at an constellation.

Piers points to a collection of stars. "Mercury. You can only see that one here."

"Here?" Lloyd asks. "the desert?" he points at a constellation that has a red star, then the normal white ones. "Winter's Blade."

Piers nods. "Wish we had a telescope."

"Tele-what?" Lloyd asks, pointing at one of the long stemmed ones, a collection of multi-colored stars at the top. "Martel's Staff."

Piers shakes his head. "Never mind."

"It's one of my only memories of my father." Lloyd says, drifting his hand to another. "Sitting on his shoulders and looking at stars... Heaven's Sheild."

"I can't remember my dad. He died when I was little. It was always my uncle and my mother. She was always sick..." Piers sighs. "Right. This is depressing! Let's do something else."

"...yep!" Lloyd agrees. "What did you think of the seal?"

"Uh. Hot and dead." Piers replies.

"Dead?" Lloyd asks. "Those monsters didn't seem dead."

"I mean now." Piers says.

"Ah." Lloyd says.

"Dinners ready." Genis comes over with two bowls, Kratos, Raine and Colette already with their own bowls. "Tofu Curry."

"You should let me cook when we get some seafood near Palmacosta." Piers says, accepting the bowl. Lloyd takes his as well. Piers starts eating, as does Daichi and Shikka. Shikka gets it all over his muzzle. Raine is fascinated, and Lloyd is mildly curious, as is Noishe, who sits by Kratos, who sits with his back to the camp, like the night before.

"I didn't realize you were such a messy eater." Genis says, watching Shikka.

"Is it because the bowl is too small?" Raine asks, curious.

"Kinda." Shikka starts licking his muzzle, getting the curry from his fur.

"Is the pot the right size?" Genis asks, worried. "If we serve everyone else's portion first, you could use the pot as a bowl." Genis is working through his own curry.

"Naw. Its fine. I don't normally eat like this." Shikka says.

"If you're sure..." Genis says, watching the lion as Lloyd gets seconds. Shikka manages to clean his muzzle, laying back down by Colette.

"what did you think of the tofu curry?" Genis asks Lloyd as they take care of their bowls.

"It was missing something." Lloyd says slowly.

"Wow, I'm surprised you noticed!" Genis says. "But yeah, I didn't have all the ingredients."

"What do you mean, 'surprised'?" Lloyd asks, frowning.

"Ah, sorry." Genis says. "I mean, I didn't expect to hear you say that." Daichi flops onto his back staring at the stars, his eyes glazed.

"that's the same thing!" Lloyd protests.

"It would have been perfect if I had some Kirima fruit." Genis says.

"Oh? you're the one who made this?" Lloyd looks a tiny bit confused.

"Of course."

"I thought it was the Professor.." Lloyd mutters. Raine turns.

"Oh, will you try my cooking next time, Lloyd?" she asks.

"If you want to live, you'd better not.." Genis mutters. "But it's true!" Piers and Shikka seem to be asleep. Daichi is still lost in thought. Lloyd inches away from the impending sibling argument, and toward Daichi.

".. you look troubled." Lloyd says, watching the man.

Daichi blinks, looking at Lloyd. "I'm just wondering... Maybe you should have killed me..."

Lloyd makes a face. "You heard all that with Kratos, huh?"

"Well, yeah. But there are other reasons. I watched humans make Exspheres... Thinking they were... Inferior beings... Hah... The amount of humans I've killed by doing nothing." Daichi mutters.

"....." Lloyd says. "Then all of us have, for some time at least. If raiding the ranch would have saved people, then all of the Iselians have blood on their hands for not doing so." Kratos shifts, returning with his cleaned bowl, and goes back to his spot once more.

"Okay. Directly killed. On Lord Forcystus' orders... And for personal reasons..." Daichi says.

"And I've killed Desians." Lloyd shrugs. "Not on orders, but because they got in my way. That's a personal reason if any." Lloyd pauses. "Not.. that I like the fact that you were a Desian, or completely approve/accept it...."

Daichi sighs. "Humans killed my parents the same as we aparently killed yours. Thats why I became a Desian, to make humans pay. Heh. We're not too different."

Lloyd makes a weird face. "I joined something to get revenge?" he asks the sky. ".. Maybe. When Colette finishes the Ritual of Regeneration, the Desians will be sealed away. That's what the scriptures say, in any case."

"What about me? Do I still count as a Desian?" Daichi asks.

"I don't know." Lloyd says. "Do you think you're a Desian? Or just a half-elf who knows how to fight?"

"Whats the difference? Apart from the hate." Daichi mutters.

"You're part of an organization as a Desian, one openly recognized with fear and hate." Lloyd says, leaning back. "And you'd, at least I think you would, get some regular pay, resting place, and hatred from the rest of us. As a Half-elf, things are uncertain... but you can change them a lot easier."

"I hope so." Daichi says.

"hmmm..." Lloyd shifts, looking at the sky.

"Discrimination is everywhere." Daichi comments, returning to the sky. "That lion is weird. He barely talks."

"Have you tried to talk to him?" Lloyd also thinks Kratos doesn't talk much, but he's noticed that the two men don't get along, so doesn't bring it up.

"Well... Theres no reason to...What I'm saying is that he doesn't contribute to conversations." Daichi shrugs.

"Maybe he's shy?" Lloyd offers.

"Maybe. I get the feeling that he's the type to pull your head off, y'know? Kinda scary at times." Daichi says.

"Like Kratos?" Lloyd asks, thinking on the creepy mercenary's stalker-capabilities, and the insta-slice he had almost taken out of Lloyd.

"Nah. At least the cat'd give you a warning." Daichi says with a grim smile.

"... True." Lloyd shivers. He sits up, then gets to his feet. "I'm going to go see how Colette is doing." Daichi nods. Shikka looks up, shifting his body so Lloyd can get close to Colette. Colette seems to be asleep, so Raine draws Lloyd into a conversation.

"It seems Colette's feeling better now."

"..Yeah.." Lloyd murmurs."It looks like becoming an angel is pretty rough."

"Yes. I wonder if her biological structure is changing." Raine has a hint of excitement in her voice.

"Bio...what?" Lloyd asks, dazed.

"Ah.." Raine forgot how dense Lloyd was. "In other words, I wonder if she's becoming a different kind of life form." Raine says it simple for Lloyd.

"Colette is Colette." Lloyd says, shrugging.

"..Yes, you're right." Raine says, then smiles. "You always point out the truth."

"Ah, well.." Lloyd looks a bit flustered.

"It's because he lives only by instinct." Genis puts in, he's reading the book Piers gave him. Lloyd remembers something, as he sticks his hands in his pocket.

"Oh yeah." He turns back to Colette and Shikka, the girl sitting up in her blankets. "I know it's kind of late now, but here's your birthday present." Lloyd draws out a pendent on a chain and hands it to Colette.

"Oh no, it's broken.." Sure enough, the pendent was cracked, and the chain broken in a few places. Lloyd looks confused.

"You have been fighting a lot. Might've fell on it." Shikka suggests.

"Yeah.. but when did it happen.." Lloyd mutters, inspecting it in the fire-light. "I'm sorry, I'll make you a new one." Lloyd pockets it.

"Thanks.. and.." Colette looks down. "I'm sorry that I keep causing trouble for you."

"Don't worry about it." Lloyd spots the bowl next to Colette. "By the way, you haven't been eating at all. Are you still feeling sick?"

"No, I'm fine." Colette reassures him. "I just.. don't.. seem to have much of an appetite."

"You won't be able to keep your strength up if you don't eat." Lloyd picks up the bowl, stirring it around and offering the spoon side to Colette.

"..I know, you're right.." But she starts coughing, and Lloyd puts down the bowl.

"Lloyd, don't push her." Raine tells the teen.

"Colette is delicate." Genis says. "Unlike you."

Lloyd looks irritated at Genis. "Shut it." he grumbles. "I'm sorry, Colette."

"No, no, I'm ok..." Colette protests. "I'm really sorry for worrying you." she pauses, then stands. "I'm going for a little walk."

"Want me to come?" Lloyd asks, ready to get back to his feet.

"Thanks but... I'll be fine by myself.." Colette walks off.

"Ha-ha, You got re-ject-ed." Genis sing-songs at Lloyd.

"Hey, Shut up, Genis!" Lloyd doesn't appreciate the teasing, then sits completely once more, visibly calming himself again. "How are you doing?" Lloyd asks Shikka.

"Bit bored. I slept this afternoon." His tail twitches slightly.

"Thats right.. you didn't go into the seal. Colette mentioned something about fire." Lloyd says, sitting on the edge of the empty bedroll. Noishe is sitting over by Kratos yet.

"I hate it." Shikka says firmly.

"Ah." Lloyd shifts. "guess with fur, you don't need fires as much as we do."

"Its not that..." Shikka rumbles.

"Oh." Lloyd shifts, glancing after Colette, then firmly at the fire again.

Shikka nuzzles Lloyd. "She'll be fine."

"... yeah.." Lloyd mutters, firmly not looking back where Colette had wandered off. "She has to be, doesn't she?"

"I will take the night watch again." Kratos says, glancing over a shoulder at the party about the campfire. Lloyd yawns.

Shikka nudges Lloyd. "Go sleep."

"... yeah." Lloyd mumbles, and makes his way over to his own bedroll, and flops into it. Noishe leaves off sitting next to Kratos to curl up next to Lloyd. Shikka puts his head between his paws, closing his eyes. Colette comes back a little later, and wearily climbs into her bed-roll, coughing on occasion. Raine and Genis have already nodded off, and Kratos is taking the nightwatch again, so he stays awake.. although barely and Daichi are fast asleep, Daichi snoring quietly.

* * *

September 8th

* * *

Kratos once again startles Lloyd awake by throwing a piece of wood onto the fire, this time there is a kettle sitting near by, and the mercenary has a mug of coffee in his hand as he goes back to his pillar of a seat. Lloyd manages not to yelp this time, just jerking awake. Daichi is sprawled over the sand, having rolled off his bedroll. Lloyd blinks blearily, looking about.

"Coffee." he mumbles, recognizing the smell and moving for it. he nearly scalds himself after he gets his cup.

Daichi rouses himself, spitting out sand. "Euch... Gar..." Genis wakes a bit, spotting Lloyd with a mug of coffee, an expression of bliss on the teens face.

"uh-oh.. Who gave Lloyd coffee?" Genis moans to the air.

"Got'it m'self." Lloyd mutters into his cup.

Daichi grabs a water skin, drinking a bit to spit the sand from his mouth. "Ew."

"I'll start breakfast." Genis says, getting up and shaking sand free of his hair, before starting oatmeal.

Daichi still scrubs at his tongue. "Why do I sleep with my mouth open...?"

"No idea." Lloyd mutters, offering a mug. "Coffee?"

Daichi grabs it. "Thanks, kid." Lloyd mutters something that might be a 'your welcome', but is lost in his own coffee. It's rather strong, partially because they don't have any sugar on hand, and partially because Kratos made it. Lloyd is pleased, in anycase, as Colette and Raine stir awake, and Noishe moves to attack Piers with his nose once more.

Piers flails. "Noishe! Quit it." Noishe barks, but backs off. Genis puts a bowl of oatmeal into Lloyd's line of sight, and the older teen grabs it, starting to inhale food still too hot. Genis shakes his head, then offers bowls to the rest of the party. Kratos takes his with a slight nod, and Colette only eats a tiny amount.

Piers sits up. "Lloyd, control your dog."

"Noishe, stop attacking Piers." Lloyd says around a spoon. Noishe whines at him. "I don't care if you think he smells nice or not, you don't need to bug him all the time." Noishe whines, comically drooping, looking depressed. Kratos seems amused by this as he takes his pillar seat once more, but facing them. Raine is talking with Colette in muted tones. Shikka creeps up on Noishe and play pounces, starting to lick the dog. Noishe yelps and whines, trying to flail away, but its all in play. That dog has some good claws.

"Haha!" Genis cheers. "Get him, Shikka! Teach him to pounce on us and clean!" Lloyd is amused by this, eating yet. Shikka manages to get his muzzle beneath Noishe, licking the dogs belly, tail swishing. Noishe yelps, trying to wiggle away. Something very much like amusement is on Kratos's face as he watches, forgetting the bowl on his knee as he watches Shikka and Noishe. Noishe is flapping those large ears, his poofy, thick tail, and flailing his legs, whining most piteously. Shikka finally relents, reverting to human form, grinning widely. Noishe pulls away, looking offended and hurt as he whines at Lloyd.

"Yes, you did need a bath." Lloyd tells the large dog-creature. Noishe looks indignant now, and Kratos returns an empty bowl to the fire area.

"We should head back to Triet." Kratos says, looking his usual stern-empty once more. "Or we will not reach it before dark."

"Right." Raine says, taking hers and Colette's bowls to the fire as well, and then the flurry of activity is packing up, then securing bundles, and heading for the Desert Oasis-town.

* * *

Late-evening, Genis runs into town, spinning in place.

"Triet!" the boy crows.

"Stop running!" Raine shouts."you'll trip!"

"Will not!" Genis says, turning for the inn. and he then does so. "Oww.."

"Genis!" Raine rushes over. Piers is close behind, kneeling by the boy, too.

"It's just a scratch." Genis says, getting back up.

"Let me heal it."

"It's a SCRATCH." Genis protests.

"You know the sand in this region is fine, unless we take care of it now, you might get infected!" Raine says, not letting her brother get more than a few words in. "We're cleaning and bandaging it _right_ _now_."

"Raine. I can clean it. Leave him with me." Piers says.

"But."

"Sis, it's fine!" Genis protests, getting up. "You're exhausted from using Recover on Lloyd every time he got too close to a scorpion!"

"Hey, it wasn't every time.." Lloyd mutters.

"Piers is still fine, its ok!" Genis continues.

"Raine, its fine. My water is the cleanest around" Piers says.

"... fine." Raine stands as well. "Lets retire to the Inn."

Piers washes the cut and then Plys it shut. "Done."


	11. Return of Green

* * *

September 11th

* * *

Lloyd groans, flopping down on the sparse grass that grew on the base of the mountain pass, pressing his face into the wiry plants.

"Grass, I will never leave you again." Lloyd mutters, shaking sand from his hair, then sitting up to remove a boot and do the same.

"I. Hate. Sand!" Daichi growls. "I need to wash it out, now..."Unfortunately, there isn't a stream anywhere near by. Before them stretches the path, slowly climbing in a valley. The air us cooler than it would be if they were fully in the desert.

"We camp here for a few hours." Raine says, pulling out bed-rolls. "Some rest before we take on the pass." Lloyd is shaking out all of his clothes, having stripped down to his muscle shirt and dark boxers. Shikka has no sand on him whatsoever. Piers is grumbling quietly. Lloyd puts his clothes back on, leaving the jacket undone as he falls back, staring at the early morning sky. They had taken to night traveling again, and the teen was tired to be awake still now.

"How long..?" Lloyd yawns.

"Until a little after noon." Raine says. "we'll make a small lunch and move on." Lloyd nods, falling asleep. Genis is pillowed on Noishe, who uses a paw to cover his muzzle and eyes. Shikka remains awake, not tired. Kratos also stays awake, watching Shikka for a moment, then turning to stare off in the direction the Laguz was not facing, keeping watch once more.

Kratos turns, noting the sun was at the noon-slightly after angle, and debates how to wake them. Throwing a log on a dying fire wouldn't work. He whistles, and Noishe looks at him, then the man indicates Lloyd. Noishe nods, and sneakily maneuvers over to the sleeping teen. Shikka looks up, watching. Noishe sneakily shoves his nose up the back of Lloyd's shirt and jacket. The boy yelps, sitting up quickly and thrashing away. Shikka chuckles, watching. Lloyd manages to wake fully, while making a lot of noise, his sword-sheaths clacking, his yelping as Noishe continues to try to clean the teen, and is eventually able to fend him off. the dog's muzzle is open, and he has the impression he's laughing with his peculiar mixture of whines and barks. the large creature moves to sit next to Kratos.

Daichi sits up. "What the fuck is going on?" Hopefully, Raine didn't hear him. Unfortunately, she did. Raine reaches over, and using her staff as extra arm length, raps him on the head.

"Watch it." she warns, but she's also curious. Lloyd glares at Noishe, then Kratos.

"You set him on me!" the teen accuses. Kratos tilts his head, looking off to the side, as if he hadn't heard anything Lloyd had said. Daichi manages to avoid the knock, watching the drama unfold. It's not much drama, Noishe looking and sounding like he's laughing while Kratos calmly ignores Lloyd, who's gotten his Jerk!Kratos opinion back. after a few moments of trying to talk to the man, who was ignoring him, Lloyd gives up. Genis having finished sandwiches and cabbage rolls makes it easier to forget. So they pack up in relative silence, Noishe still looking amused, and head up the mountain path, Lloyd still eating the easily carried food. Again, Colette eats little, and almost absently.

"Stop!" a female voice shouts.

Daichi turns, hand on the haft of his Axe. "Uh-oh. That don't sound too friendly." From above them, purple shifts, a lighter shade than what their Mercenary wears, a woman in a short kimono and black slacks standing.

"What?" Lloyd asks, a little exasperated, as the party stops.

"Is she a friend of yours, Lloyd?" Colette asks her friend.

"Not that I'm aware of." Lloyd shrugs. Piers tenses, letting his energy flow ready. Shikka watches.

"... Is the Chosen of Mana among you?" the dark-haired woman asks, still on her higher ledge above the path.

"Oh, that's me." Colette says, taking a step forward. Paper crinkled.

"..Prepare to die!" The woman drops down to the path below, a crisp seal of paper between the first two fingers of each hand.

"Deluge!" Piers yells. The Psynergy activates, huge orbs of water falling for the would-be assassin. Colette stumbles backwards as the woman nearly reaches her, and falls onto a lever. Kratos was almost past Lloyd when rusted gears groaned, and a wooden hatch opened under the woman.

"Uh-oh..." Lloyd, Genis, Raine and Colette say in chorus, as Kratos stops moving, watching the hole.

"...Oh, come on! What sort of idiot puts a trap door there?!" Daichi exclaims, the coincidence seeming to be too much. Kratos sheathes his blade as a crash is heard from inside, some of the Deluge spell also falling in.

"Oh, no!" Colette says, getting up and peering in. "I did it again..."

"You don't need to worry about it." Raine says, pulling the accident prone girl away. "If she had not fallen in, you might have been killed." Kratos snorts, turning away.

"But..." Lloyd looks inside the pit as well.

"Just close the damn thing." Piers mutters, pulling the lever to close it.

"Don't Worry about it." Lloyd says to Colette. "It looks like she's an enemy."

"I hope she's ok..." Colette watches at the wooden flat groans, and rises back into place.

"Even assuming her weight to be 45kg, and this hole to be 10m deep," Genis gets his math hat on. "and calculating hte gravity constant at 9.8, the impact shouldn't have been fatal."

Lloyd looks stunned. "??? Gravity.. .constant?"

Piers face-palms. "She should be alive."

"Yes." Genis nods.

"Still, man, she's got some bad luck. Standing right on top of a trapdoor and all." Lloyd is looking at the pit again.

"It's not a trap." Raine says after looking at it for a second. "It's a hidden maintenance passage for the mountain path."

"..We should get moving." Kratos says, looking up the path.

Piers nods, pushing an irritated Daichi. "Get moving and stop whining."

"Hey!" Lloyd says, frowning at Kratos. "Shouldn't we try to find out who that woman was?" Kratos glances at the boy, already moving to start up the path farther.

"She'll come after us again on her own." Kratos replies. "This area is too confined, and the footing is poor. It would be wise not to linger." Lloyd frowns, but accepts this logic. They head farther up the mountain pass, reaching the top in time for dinner and evening. Unfortunately, Raine refuses to let go of the pot... and she cooks dinner. They sit around a large stump of a tree, waiting in dread for the healer to come back with their food. Piers manages to get Shikka to go hunt for them to spare them from having Raine's food as the only option. Obviously, they'd wait for her to sleep first. Raine gives them each a bowl. Lloyd had eaten a rather crumbled sandwich that had lived in his pocket since the day before, and claimed to not be hungry. Kratos was prodding the soup while looking like he's wondering if this could even be counted as food. Genis had snagged an apple while Raine wasn't looking, and had inhaled it as fast as he could.

"Sorry." Genis and Lloyd say at the same time. Piers and Daichi pretend to eat, Shikka feigns sleep. Colette reminds Raine that she's having a delicate stomach, and this leaves the healer with another victim, someone.. new. Kratos. When she turns on him, he gives her a dull stare.

"You're eating." Raine says, pointing at the bowl.

"I am not hungry." Kratos shoves it away.

"You haven't been sleeping, as far as I can tell." Raine says, pushing the bowl back in front of him. "Always taking Night Watch. You are eating." Kratos stares at the bowl as if wishing it would light itself on fire. "Eat, before I force feed you." Raine says, firmly, shoving the bowl under Kratos's nose. The man gives her a look that says 'you think you could do that?' and Raine takes up the spoon. Lloyd, Genis and Colette stare as the healer manages to get the mercenary to eat a spoon of her soup.

"...Does your sister have a death wish?" Daichi asks Genis.

"I think so.." Genis mutters, wide eyed. What little color there was to Kratos's face drains out, and he gets up, a definite gaging noise escaping him as he moves for the battered fence around the ledge they camped on, hands flickering with the healing spell. Piers casually throws his soup over his shoulder when Raine is distracted. There's a muted sound of retching, the faint stirring in the air of a healing spell, and Kratos comes back, looking impassive. Kratos takes the sack from Lloyd silently, and takes the chip with Raine's name on it out. Then throws it into the fire.

"No more." Kratos says very, very calmly. "Unless you'd rather we all died from food poisoning rather than against monsters." He cuts off Raine's protests.

"Owned." Piers whispers. Kratos then goes and takes a seat by the edge, one arm around his stomach, the other over his face. He looks rather miserable, from what they can see of his face. Noishe whines in admonishment at Raine, then goes and sits near Kratos.

"It's not that bad." Raine scowls, looking at her pot of soup. She tries it, and seems to find little problem with it, but Lloyd and Genis are making plans with Colette to use the food as some sort of attack.

"Night watch." Kratos mutters, claiming the post. "I doubt I shall be able to sleep after eating that concoction in any case..." It seems this will be the closest man will get to complaining, even as he still looked a bit green. Lloyd and the rest dump the food off the edge, and then studiously scrub the pots and bowls, and try to coerce Kratos into playing card games. This does not succeed. Shikka stands, wandering off. Kratos glances at him, but goes back to his little world of ignoring the real one. Colette doesn't seem to understand the rules of Go Fish, and Raine is tired after all that strenuous cooking and argueing with Kratos to get him to eat, and lies down for sleep. Shikka comes back with three deer. One for Lloyd, one for Daichi, Genis and Piers and one for himself. He sits by the fire, starting to prep kebabs with sticks.

Lloyd gapes. "Food!" its a controlled shout, with all the enthusiasm of a shout in the loudness of a whisper. Shikka passes the first set of kebabs, sprinkling a grass-like herb over them. It makes the taste better. Lloyd is just pleased to have real food, and sits there happily eating, passing one of them to Colette. She politely eats a small amount, and then Genis inhales the rest in a single bite. Shikka keeps passing them out until everyone is full. Lloyd collapses back with a very pleased expression on his face.

"Thanks to Kratos, we don't have to carry emergency food around.." Lloyd says, and takes out some very battered apples and sandwiches with pocket lint on them. he feeds these to the fire. Piers yawns, flopping back. Shikka shifts into lion mode, turning his back so that no-one can see him eat the corpse. Lloyd, fed with nice warm and tasty meat, falls asleep half in his bedroll. Genis shakes his head, and the goes to his own. Colette going to hers as well. Kratos sits with Noishe, idly watching their surroundings, even if he looks like he might be feeling ill/having indigestion.

* * *

September 12th

* * *

Kratos makes his normal waking call of dropping a piece of wood noisily onto dying fire, Lloyd sitting up quickly with a blink and muted noise of confusion. Shikka seems to have been up eating most of the night. The corpse is picked clean aside for some...indigestible matter, bones and skin. and shoved off the edge of the cliff. Genis stirs next, sitting up and starting the oatmeal. There is no coffee to drink this morning, but since Kratos still looks a bit uncomfortable it might have been a good thing. the mercenary declines food, waiting on the seat he had occupied for the night. They eat, clean their bowls, and pack up. They had camped at the top of the ridge, now they just had to make their way down the other side of the range.

After a winding trail down the mountain path, they reach a flat, unnaturally flat, area. on one side, a large wooden flat-door angles up to the sky.

"This is the base." Raine says, then the large wooden door thunks to the ground.

"W..wait!" the assassin says. Lloyd stops, as Colette stops, and since Colette stopped, the rest of them stopped.

"..Wow." Lloyd says. "She caught up with us."

"Oh, thank goodness!" Colette says, taking a half step closer. Kratos silently draws his blade, watching the assassin.

"D..Don't move!" the assassin takes a matching half step back. Piers tenses up, getting ready to cast a spell. Daichi tenses also, growling lightly.

"A wise decision." Raine says softly, holding her staff.

"...I won't be caught off guard this time!" the assassin says, drawing her two slips of paper again. "Prepare to die!" As if this is some sort of signal to him, Kratos lunges. the assassin, not too much older than Lloyd, blanches, then throws out a slip of paper. a poof of smoke and a large bird thing is there. Piers starts casting spells at the assassin-ninja. Kratos whips his shield up to block the creature's lunge, a scowl forming as he fights the creature on the wheel. Lloyd glances at Kratos, then his attention is swiftly brought back to the assassin as she slams a seal into his chest, and then more cards appear out of air to throw him back. Piers gathers his energy into a hand, slamming it to the ground. A rumble can be heard beneath the assassin.

"Lloyd, get back!" A geyser bursts out beneath the would-be assassin. Lloyd staggers back, pulling at slips of paper that have stuck to his face and his eyes. Colette is behind him, and moves to help. The assassin screams, backpedaling quickly, then flipping to keep to her feet. Piers blasts at the assassin with a Move spell to knock her over. Daichi is aiding Kratos with the bird-creature. The bird starts making its lightening quick attacks at both Kratos and Daichi, and the mercenary seems to be getting angry, to judge by the electricity sparking off him. A flicker of thought, and the violet glow changes to an earthen one.

"Grave." Kratos snarls the spell, and the earth under the Guardian shivers, and slabs of rock spike it.

"Aqua Edge!" Daichi has been practicing the spell, the water bullets pounding against the guardian harshly. The pillars of rock shudder, and explode, and Genis gasps, apparently their mercenary had used too much Mana in that spell. the Guardian fades with a cry, and the assassin backs up to the front of the mine.

"Crap!"

"Move!" A giant hand appears, shoving at the assassin. Piers' aura is golden/green instead of blue as he casts this.

A rumble echoes from the mine, and the woman immediately takes an 'Oh, Holy Shit, I thought I outran that' look. Noishe whines, and Kratos switches his glare from the woman to the doorway.

"Ugh..." she gets back to her feet. "...Just you wait!" She edges away from the door way. "I swear I'll kill you all next time!" with some smoke, she vanishes.

Piers pants, out of breath...And almost out of PP. "Uh...What do we do about the...rumblings?" Kratos is watching the entry way, but his fingers flick, and rapid-successions of First Aid spells fire off, including one for Daichi. Raine blinks, then casts Charge on Kratos, then Piers.

"It is a monster." Kratos says.

"It's... dark.." Colette shivers. Piers just gets ready. Daichi settles into a ready stance and Shikka transforms. Lloyd pulls the last bit of paper off him angrily as the large creature comes out. it was a large black skeleton, with a tail, four arms, and golden rams horns on its head.

"It's called a Sword Dancer!" Genis shouts, a crystalline lens in one hand while he used his Kendama as a focus in the other.

"I don't care what its called, lets just kill it!" Daichi snarls, rushing in, Shikka close behind.

"Light! Hit it with Light!" Genis shouts, finishing his casting for Icicle as the lens crumbles. Sword Dancer continues shambling forward.

"High ground!" Kratos barks, dashing up the cliff path and face to get on level with its head, then launches himself from that height to attack the creature from the back. Lloyd blinks as Kratos comes crashing to the ground next to him, then realization dawns on his face. he leaves off slashing at the monsters ankles as Kratos launches once more, then Lloyd clambers up the cliff face to mimic the mercenary, getting roughly the same amount of hits in before falling to the ground. Genis's spells distract it enough so that it doesn't turn to face the cliff. Colette uses her throwing rings to keep it distracted as well, while Raine casts First Aid on Lloyd and Kratos every time they land. the Sword Dancer draws two of its arms back, then two more.

"Move!" Kratos barks, dropping down the back of the creature and moving back as it swings its arms down. Daichi growls slightly, jumping down from his place on the ledge. He starts attacking the creature, his movements more erratic, powerful, faster. A sparking can be seen on the back of his neck, indicating an Exsphere normally hidden by his collar. The four arms of the Sword Dancer gain a black glow, and slam into the ground before it, like a Demon Fang that only existed just before it, sending up a shock wave of rocks. Genis and Colette yelp, the minty green bubble of their defense tech rising to cover them both as Raine is knocked out of casting by a few rocks. Daichi has his own defense tech, a blood red bubble in his case. It seems to activate automatically, as Daichi continues to attack. Shikka stands before Piers, protecting him from the flying rocks. The creature seems to pause, like it couldn't do anything so soon after using that attack, and Kratos takes this chance to run up its long tail, and start attacking the arm joints. it's skull chatters, as Lloyd darts in for its legs. Daichi has managed to get to the chest, pounding away, relentless. One of its arms simply falls off, and the Sword Dancer roars, a shock wave of the dark energy rippling off it. Kratos snarls as he goes flying, flipping in mid air to land better than he would have other wise, but still poorly. Dark Mana seems to hurt him. Lloyd yelps, throwing up his defense tech and he bounces off inside the bubble. Daichi throws up the defense bubble, but darts in, managing to hack its leg off. Lloyd dissipates his bubble, getting back up, battered but in one piece, as Raine flicks out First Aid spells, Kratos casting his own. the Sword Dancer chatters its jaw, and drops the remaining three weapons.

"strong...." it says, somehow speaking without any flesh to it. "Fight... strong..." it chatters again. "... ... back.." it fades in a swirl of Dark Mana. Daichi pants, the Exsphere stopping the sparking. He falls to his knees. Once again, Kratos does something unexpected - his First Aid casts before Raine's does, but he turns to check on Lloyd and Colette next without a word. Daichi wasn't really injured, more...exhausted. He lifts his collar to hide the Exsphere once more.

"I'm fine." Lloyd gets back to the group with Kratos shadowing him. "I never expected to run into an enemy like that." Lloyd mentions, noting that the large blades, and arm, of the Sword Dancer are gone.

"He was huge!" Colette cheers. "I bet he lived in a big house before he became a skeleton." Watch as Raine, Genis and Lloyd sweat drop.

"Colette, it wasn't a human... it had big horns..and a tail." Lloyd protests. Daichi manages to wander over to the group, still getting his breath back. Raine has already pulled out her book, and the Monster List. There's some strange bit of magic about writing in the data that allows them to see an image of the creature on the page.

"That may have been the end result of an elite being from the Underworld." Raine says, finishing the notes in her book.

"The Underworld?" Genis asks, dusting himself down. "That's just a legend, isn't it?"

"Did...That...look like...a legend to you...?" Daichi pants. Genis makes a face, but Raine steamrolls over them.

"Not necessarily." Raine shuts her book. "After all, demons and ghosts are completely different from our type of life-form. It hasn't been proven yet, but I think it's likely that there is a world where those things we refer to as supernatural creatures live." Most of this goes over Lloyd's head.

Daichi sits down, flopping back. "Agh...Everything hurts..."

"An Elite being from the underworld.." Lloyd muses, sombre for a moment. "But we took him out and all," he says, grinning. "So it's ok now, right?"

Genis sighs. "I hope so..." Lloyd stops, frowning at the dirt. there are shreds of paper yet on the ground.

"... why are there people trying to kill us?" Lloyd asks, slowly, as Raine passes him to check on Daichi.

"Some people might just be evil and not want the world regenerated..." Piers muses. Daichi is unaware of Raine's movements.

"....There are always those that reject Salvation." Kratos says.

"Maybe she's a Desian?" Genis offers, glancing at Daichi, then purposefully away. Raine is trying to get him to sit up, so she can poke and prod for injuries, and already has an apple gel out for him.

Daichi moans, batting Raine away. "I'm fiiiiine..." He whines. "And she wasn't no Desian..."

"Who knows." Kratos says, tilting his head as he turns for the path for the plains. "At any rate... we are in constant danger. That is all we have to know."

"If you're sure." Raine says, standing and offering her hand to Daichi. Daichi takes it, not letting Raine take too much of his weight. Raine releases his hand after he stands, crossing her arm across her waist in thought as the party starts moving. Lloyd spots her, and walks slowly.

"Those clothes..." Raine murmurs.

"Professor, something wrong?"

".. No." Raine says, walking faster to rejoin the group. "It's nothing, lets go."

"Yeah.." Lloyd also catches up. "Anyway, lets go look for a place where we can get a ship." the party works its way along the rolling flat-lands to the sea, and the fishing town ahead. After a few hours of walking, it's obvious Lloyd's curiosity is eating at him.

"Who was that girl earlier?" Lloyd finally asks Colette.

"I hope we get to see her again." Colette smiles. Lloyd looks slightly horrified at Colette.

"What are you talking about? She's trying to kill you!" Lloyd protests.

"Yeah, once we become friends, I'll have to ask her why she was doing that." Colette skips along.

Daichi sweat drops. "Does this girl have a death wish?"

"Huh?!" Lloyd looks horribly confused. "Are you kidding me? How do you plan on becoming friends with her?!" this makes Colette's skipping halt for all of a few minutes as she thinks.

"Hmm..." Colette spins around to smile up at Lloyd. "What would you suggest?"

"Me?" Lloyd looks even more confused. "How am I supposed to know?"

"Maybe if we get Daichi to chop her head off, she'd be easier to convince." Piers suggests.

"No, I don't think that will work." Colette frowns, as if she was seriously considering that as an option. "I don't think we could be very good friends if her head was shopped off. Lloyd, try to come up with a plan before we see her again!" she skips to Raine.

"Wait... I have to come up with the plan...?" Lloyd mutters, very lost. Daichi mumbles something like 'chop her arms off...' There's a strange tilt to Kratos's head as he walks behind them, as if he's thinking about something. A slight smile flicks, then disappears as he watches for monsters again. It's past dark by the time they reach Izoold. and Kratos knows where the inn is without much light to see the sign. Again, they split into rooms, and once again, by the time Lloyd gets into the room he shares with the Mercenary, the man has chosen the bed farthest from the door. Lloyd glances at him as Kratos sits and undoes his shoes, his sword already under the pillow, and cape on the chair nearby.

"... You're weird." Lloyd says, spotting the blade.

Kratos pauses, and a tiny smirk flicks. "Maybe I am."

* * *


	12. Across the Sea

* * *

September 13th

* * *

Lloyd wakes, and sits up to see Kratos turn on the chair and pull his boots on. Surprisingly, it was dawn, not before or after.

"Mngg..." Lloyd mumbles, rolling out of his tangled blankets and onto the floor. Kratos looks at him, then steps over the teen on his way to the door, and outside. Daichi is laid out on a bench, holding a gem, an Exsphere, to the light, watching the glint. He sighs, putting it back in the Key Crest on his neck, staring at the sky. Kratos doesn't do more than glance at the man before exiting the inn, and taking a left. Lloyd stumbles out of the room a minute later, his jacket on backwards as he tries to button up a front with no button, one suspender hanging off his shoulder. he walks into the wall with a thump that brings Genis out of the kitchen.

Daichi watches with a smirk, getting up and steering Lloyd to the bench. "Genis, get something to wake him up."

Piers sticks his head out the window. "Lloyd bump into the wall again?"

"Yep." Daichi chuckles. Lloyd mutters incoherently, holding his face. Genis shakes his head, and returns with a mug of coffee. Lloyd latches onto it like its a life line, crossing his legs to perch sort of on the bench.

"Omelette's." Genis calls, ducking back into the kitchen. Raine comes down, holding a towel, and a basket in one hand.

"Theres baths here, so take one quickly." Raine says, heading out. Daichi smirks, sitting by the boy.

"Where's the lion and the klutz?" Daichi says, referring to Shikka and Colette. "I doubt that the big guy'll want a bath. But I am, later." He stands, walking off to the baths.

"I think they're still sleeping." Genis calls from the kitchen.

"Good morning!" Colette cheerfully in past Daichi, where Raine had walked off. She has the glow of someone freshly scrubbed, and brings the smell of soap with her. "What's for breakfast, Genis?" she asks, peaking into the kitchen. Lloyd blinks at her, then frowns at his cloths, which need some mending, and a good wash. he buries himself in his coffee. Shikka follows, looking clean and rather sullen. Piers appears from nowhere, following Daichi to the baths. Lloyd plans on waiting until after Breakfast to take a bath, because food is more important that cleanliness to a teenage boy.

"Here." Genis comes out with two plates. he hands one to Colette, who cuts it in half and dumps part onto the second, which she passes to Lloyd, who starts inhaling that rather than coffee. Lloyd notices something in the omelette's.

"Hey, Colette, do you want me to eat that? Genis put Green Peppers in it, and you hate those so.." Lloyd trails off as he notices Colette is working steadily and neatly through her own omelet. "...Say.. Colette. has your sense of taste changed?"

Colette looks startled, and Raine returns. "Hm?"

"Ah, I mean.. you're eating green peppers you hate..." Lloyd says.

"Oh.. yeah." Colette plays with her fork. "They just... don't seem so bitter anymore." She smiles.

"You've acquired an adult sense of taste." Raine says, sitting down with her own plate of omelet, and one for Shikka.

"...Maybe." Colette says, getting up.

"But you aren't eating as much as you used to, either." Lloyd notes. "It's great that you've become less picky, but you need to eat."

"Maybe she just doesn't feel hungry. She doesn't take things to extremes like you." Shikka points out.

"Says the guy who refuses to eat anything that touches a tomato." Genis comments, starting in on his own omelet. Lloyd flinches.

"Those things are spawn of the devil! They aren't edible, I swear!" Lloyd shudders. Shikka cooks up a rather sneaky plan for the next time he cooks, eating slowly. Raine shakes her head, as Colette goes and delivers her dish to the sink, and then Lloyd goes to take his bath, shortly followed by Genis. Daichi and Piers return. Nothing else to say except that Daichi is TOPLESS.

Lloyd and Genis return squeaky clean, with slightly damp clothes. they had scrubbed them before bathing, and let them dry while doing so. Kratos is in there, prodding a fraction of omelet about on his plate. He stands once he notices the two teens.

"There is one boat we can take. The owner is the head fisherman's son, and he is willing to accommodate us." Kratos pauses." .. It.. is a large fishing vessel."

"You make it seem like a problem!" Piers seems rather chipper. Kratos chooses to ignore him. Not much of a surprise there.

"The owner, Max, says he will sail when we are ready." Kratos heads back into the room he shares with Lloyd, and comes back with his own items to bath with.

"Meet at the docks in an hour." Raine says. "Shop, if you need too. There is a market. The trip will take three days, if the weather favors us." Daichi is sat in a corner, stitching his tunic with a well-practised hand. Lloyd is frowning at a rent in his jacket, sticking a gloved finger through it. Raine was out shopping, Colette would poke her fingers all over the place, and she was out enjoying the town's canine life.

"... how do you do that?" Lloyd thumps into a sit next to him.

"Do what?" Daichi asks without looking up.

"Sew." Lloyd frowns. "Dad made my clothes, but he always does it while I sleep." he looks at his hands. "I'm really good at making things... sooo.."

Daichi smirks slightly. "Okay. I'll teach ya, kid." He gets Lloyd to take off the jacket, shows him how to thread the needle and whatnot. Lloyd manages to get the hang of it after prodding himself a few times, but he's not as neat with his stitches as Daichi is. A little while into the mending of clothes, and Kratos comes back. The mercenary spots them, and watches for a moment, a curious expression on his face for a second. He takes up a chair near, but not in their corner, and starts his own mending. Daichi, who has managed to learn a basic First Aid spell, manages to heal Lloyd's needle wounds. Lloyd is intent on his own needle work, so it takes quite a few of Kratos's irritated hisses before the boy registers them. Kratos is glaring at his needle, and his other hand. A few streaks of red show on his fingers, and Kratos scowls at them, before muttering his own First Aid spell, and trying to mend his cape some more. Daichi shifts closer, giving the man some pointers on how to actually hold the needle.

"Just practice." Daichi says. Kratos makes a monosyllable noise as he continues to fix his clothes. It doesn't take too long until the needle slips out of the correct position, and he's back to stabbing himself. Which he announces with muttered swearing.

"You're.. not good at this, are you?" Lloyd asks, watching.

"... No." Kratos says after licking the blood from his abused finger. Daichi tosses him a thimble. Kratos looks at the little metal cap for a second, and then puts it on the finger he stabbed most. "More like I need different gauntlets.." Kratos mutters, glaring at his needle. "You'd think 15 years of mending your own clothes would teach one how not to stab themselves with the needle, at least.."

"huh?" Lloyd asks. Daichi checks on Lloyd's needlework and gives a few more pointers. Kratos doesn't comment, working on his sewing. His work is very neat, for all the spots that stain the clothes darker near by, and the amount of time it takes him to do so. Genis returns to see them sitting like this, sewing. He nearly cracks up do to some random, pre-teen thought.

"Hey, it's nearly been an hour." Genis calls.

Lloyd blinks. "Really?"

Daichi seems irritated at Genis' near laughter. "You find it funny, small fry?" He growls slightly.

"He's the funny one." Genis points at Kratos, who's scowling another bloody finger. Kratos does very good at pretending not to hear Genis, sticking the offending digit into his mouth for a second then continuing his sewing.

"Wait. We need to get to the docks now, don't we?" Lloyd slips into his jacket and hops up, his streamers flicking about him. Daichi swaps his shirts around, getting ready to go.

"Yeah." Genis nods. Kratos seems to have gotten fed up with his sewing, by the way he jabs the needle into his small ball of thread and shoves that into a small box, then into his pocket. His cape goes back on, and the sword he'd rested against his chair as well.

"He won't leave without us all." Kratos says, offering his bit of conversation for the day, and leaves.

Lloyd and Genis catch up as they all stand on the edge of the docks, before a large boat. Not a ship, a large boat. "Are you ready?" This man seemed slightly sullen as he asks Kratos this. Raine looks like she's having second thoughts. Piers seems overly excited to be near the ocean again. Shikka seems like Raine. Daichi seems to be sizing up the man. Kratos simply tilts his head, his gaze sliding off and to the left as he ignores the world.

".. Yeah." Lloyd says. "We're all ready."

"Ok, then let's set sail." the way onto the ship is merely one of the walls of a large box laid across the gap to the fishing vessel. "..Don't blame me if we run into any monsters." the man finishes, heading onto his boat.

"Any monster we run into won't have a head." Daichi growls slightly. The fisherman blinks at Daichi, but Lloyd and Colette dash past the larger man to get onto the boat, distracting him with bright colors.

"Now we can finally go to the next seal." Lloyd is trying to see if he can see Palmacosta, but obviously can't.

"Yep!" Colette cheers. Daichi rolls his eyes, getting onto the boat, followed by Piers. Shikka shakily climbs onto the boat.

"I was afraid this journey would force me on a boat sooner or later..." Raine mumbles, take each step carefully. Genis looks a bit exasperated, and takes his sister's hand at pulls her on board. Kratos walks on last. the fisherman comes up, and takes the plank and stows it on board.

"Name's Max." The fisherman says as he fixes the sail, getting all ready to head out. then he jumps to the dock, undoes all the ropes on that side, and jumps back to the boat as the wind pulls them out of the dock. A few seconds of this, when the aft clears the dock, and Genis is excited, jumping up and down.

"We're at sea! We're at sea!" Genis cheers. Piers is as excited as Genis. Shikka is clinging to the mast. Raine is sitting on his other side, head in her hands.

"Settle down, this thing's tiny." Lloyd calls to Genis. "Do you want to fall out?"

Max overhears and glares at Lloyd's back. "Gee, I'm so sorry my ship is too 'tiny' for you!"

Daichi rolls his eyes. "Tactful, kid. Very tactful." Since Lloyd doesn't know the meaning of that word, he ignores it.

"I'm gunna fall!" Colette pinwheels her arms as she stands on the bow of the ship. You can see both Kratos and Lloyd's heads whip around, before the mercenary and teen rush over to steady the girl. Both Lloyd and Kratos manage to secure a grip on Colette's arm, and Lloyd is just a bit more gentle in pulling the girl backwards, further onto deck. Kratos looks irritated that he forgot that the girl he was protecting was a klutz, and Lloyd looks like he's thinking of never taking Colette on a boat again.

"...stay back from the edge, Chosen." Kratos releases her arm. Daichi has his face in his palm.

"Ok!" Colette smiles. Kratos gives her a dull glance that says that he doesn't believe her, but he goes and sits near the edge of the boat himself.

A bird call distracts Lloyd. "Hey. That's no sea gull."

Piers blinks. "That isn't a sea bird... It doesn't sound like any bird I know..." Kratos is starring intently at the water, his sword hand moving for the hilt, his other starting to crackle with lightening.

"Chosen. Get away from the edge of the boat." Kratos says, calmly, as he stands, and moves back. Max reads correctly into this, and heads into the cabin, as Lloyd blinks, and understands as some large fish like creatures jump out of the water, some hawk variants from the sky. Piers starts casting Frost on the hawk creatures, trying to freeze their wings. Violet lightening strikes from a clear sky, the flicker of it about Kratos's left hand vanishing as he lunges for a monster that was aiming for Colette. Lloyd spins, drawing his blades into monsters. Genis yelps, quickly gathering Mana for Icicle - Aqua Edge won't be any help here. Which is why Piers is freezing the aerial creatures. the birds swiftly plummet into the ocean, and Lloyd and Colette work well, the girl pulling out her wings to get out of the way of the monsters, who can't seem to aim up, her Chakrams enabling her to be effective even at this angle. Piers seems only effective against the aerial monsters. Daichi and Shikka are useless. the monsters are dispatched, and Kratos seems darkly interested in the remains, flipping them off the deck. he then finds a large fish-creature that was mostly intact.

"... Dinner." Kratos says, flipping it farther onto the deck. Raine recoils from it.

"Ehhh?" Lloyd and Genis ask.

Piers leans in, poking at it. "I can do something with that." Kratos doesn't apear to be interested anymore, he's still kicking monster bits off the boat. Max comes back out, and takes control of the ship once again. Piers lifts the creature with magic, stowing it somewhere. Kratos finishes clearing off the ship, tending to his blade. a significant look at Lloyd has the boy doing the same to his weapon.

"Never had fish before." Lloyd comments.

"Oh? You'll be pleasantly surprised." Piers smirks.

"Lloyd will eat anything. Unless its tomatoes." Genis amends his comment.

"Oh! Remember Dwarven Pot Luck Surprise?" Colette says cheerfully. Kratos has found a clean spot of deck to sit on, and is doing so.

"Yes! My dad makes the best Dwarven Pot Luck Surprise!" Lloyd says. Raine makes a gagging noise and hurries to the edge of the boat. Lloyd, Colette and Genis stop their talk of food as they realize swiftly that this was the root of Raine's current problem. Unfortunately... another two days on the boat was the current guess, unless weather turned nasty.

* * *

Evening comes without any more monsters, although Kratos is intently watching creatures move in the water far of the aft- the monsters he'd kicked off were becoming food. Piers is making a fish stew. Shikka is sitting by Piers. Lloyd is looking bored as he searches for a clean spot to sit. Colette is standing at the bow again, face into the wind, and Genis is trying to help Raine get over he sea-sickness, with no luck.

"Food's ready." Piers puts the stew into bowls. Lloyd dives in, and Colette once again eats little. Raine isn't feeling good enough to do more than moan miserably, and Kratos seems to find the sea fascinating. Noishe whines from the other side of the cabin.

"Holy shit, when did that get there!" Max yells.

"He. Not it." Piers sets a bowl of stew before the dog. Noishe agrees, before eating.

"He's my dog." Lloyd says firmly, as if daring the man to say 'thats no dog.' or something of the like. Max wisely says nothing. Shikka gorges on fish while Piers pets Noishe. Kratos starts staring intently into the water off the starboard.

"Tasty." Lloyd comments.

"...."

"Thanks. I bought the stuff from Izoold. Fish is my specialty." A loud scraping sound can be heard. Daichi is sharpening his axe with a whetstone. Kratos seems to be giving sparks off again.

Lloyd notices. "... Monsters!" he yelps, remembering that Kratos has lightening spells, spilling some of his food as spins for this next set of fish and bird-things. there's a squid this time, too. Piers jumps up, starting to make it rain bird things. Max takes shelter inside the cabin once more, as Kratos zaps something, and Lloyd starts slash and hacking while Colette takes off once more, hovering around the mast to throw her Chakrams into the fray. Daichi and Shikka are, once more, useless. Again, things die fast. Its apparent that lightening is the way to go. Genis hasn't learned that spell yet, however. Kratos resumes kicking dead monsters off the boat. there aren't any in big enough pieces to be deemed edible by the mercenary this time. Piers salvages many of the hunks. Max pokes his head out.

"Every time you've all been killing monsters, I've been catching naps." Max says. "There's room inside enough for all of you, so go ahead and sleep till morning." Kratos remains on deck.

"... Night watch." Kratos says when Max gives him a funny look. Piers sits atop the cabin, staring at the sky, feeling relaxed by the sea and the night. Max moves back by tiller, and stays there. Kratos moves to the bow, and sits there. Complete with a leg hanging over the edge. Piers pulls an orb of water from the ocean, starting to shape it. Kratos turns, and watches Piers. Piers shapes it into a horse and makes it gallop about.

"... Interesting use of magic." Kratos says, turning his attention back to the sea ahead.

"I guess." Piers replies.

"....Humph." Kratos does not approve of magic for anything else than fighting. Until you notice how he lights the fire next time. Or at least, he doesn't find it as interesting as Max does. Kratos turns to star gazing rather than watching the waves. "... the Shield is visible." he murmurs.

"Shield?" Piers asks. Kratos points to a set of barely visible stars.

"... Heaven's Shield." he says, connecting them with his finger. "... It becomes visible before winter. ... The base also points south." He indicates a small, more golden sort of star. ".. That star does not seem to vanish..."

"Huh. Lloyd likes to stargaze, too." Piers mutters.

"...I see." Kratos drops his hand. "It helps one keep direction." Kratos says, shifting.

Piers flops back, connecting a few stars. "Mercury...And...Jupiter...Atlanta..." Kratos debates telling the boy that there was some fish remains under his shoulder.

"... You might not want to lay there." Kratos remarks. Piers blasts the remains into the ocean.

"I gathered." He washes his shoulder. Kratos looks at the random fish things that move to the surface to attack/eat the remains.

"... Do you intend to sleep?" Kratos finally asks. Noishe comes up, picking his path gingerly across the deck. he seems offended by the fishy-smelling, slightly slick deck.

"Not really. I absorb energy from flowing water."

"I see." Kratos says. "You are incredibly aligned to water, then."

"Yeah."

"Uncommon, to find people heavily aligned with any element, in the land's dying days." Kratos says.

Piers shrugs. "What can I say. I'm an enigma."

"... So it seems." A faint smile is in his voice. "Of course, it should be obvious that if your mystery becomes something dangerous to the Chosen, I will take action." There was no smile in that, just flat promise, mechanically delivered.

"I doubt that." Piers yawns. Kratos says nothing more. Noishe moves and sits back to back with Kratos, and after a span of time, the Mercenary moves to lightly pet the creature.

Piers looks up at Max. "I can take over if you want. I'm a Mariner, so I know my way around a ship."

"Ah." Max blinks fully awake. "If you want." He rubs his eyes, taking a half step back from the tiller. Piers jumps up, taking the wheel, managing to easily control the vessel. Max watches for a moment or two, before going back inside the cabin to find what room he can.

* * *

September 15th

* * *

On the evening of the third day at sea, they pull into Palmacosta's port.

"We're here." Max calls. Raine mutters something that sound quite like 'thank Martel.' as she jumps off before the plank is placed. The market is just off the docks and she heads there quickly, Noishe following, tail and ears drooping. "

"Thanks, Max. " Lloyd says. "What are you going to do now?" he's fixing his pack on. Piers hops down, looking disappointed, Daichi indifferent in the same action.

Shikka groans, crawling onto land. "Thank Ashera..."

"I'll request escort from a Palmacosta warship or something..." Max says, looking about the rather still harbor, a bit disconcerted with the amount of fishing vessels in port. "Well, take care." Genis and Colette head off, find the professor and Noishe.

"Sorry for making you take us all the way out here." Lloyd says, as Kratos leaves, following Colette. "Be careful on your way back."

"You too." Max replies. Lloyd hops off the boat, waving farewell to the man. Raine has found a map tacked to a board in the market.

"We take this fork, and it will take us into the main part of Palmacosta. We can find an inn there, along with the cathedral." Raine says, looking remarkably better.

"Oooh. Cathedral." Piers looks interested.

"It is late." Kratos says, watching the sky, then Colette, and the people around them.

"Yes. It might be best to get rooms at the inn, sleep, then see about meeting with the church for hints on seals tomorrow, along with resupplying." Raine says, looking at the stalls about them - they were closed. so the party turns, walks between a row of stalls toward for what is the rest of the city. they reach a tee in the road.. and Colette walks into someone, both falling down and a bottle flying out of the other womans grip and shattering on the ground. Everyone tenses.

"there she goes again..." Genis mutters, helping Colette stand as the woman stands as well.

"Owww... what did you do that for?!" the woman snaps.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Colette apologizes, but the woman's attention is on the broken bottle.

"Ahh! The Palma Potion that we just received!" she wails, indicating the bottle. Daichi face palms, but says nothing. the smaller of two males, the other large and ape-like, glowers, taking a step for Colette. Kratos mirrors the man, taking a step behind and to the left of Colette, watching the man intently.

"Hey, lady, that was a very valuable potion!" he says. "How are you planning on making up for this?"

"I'll buy a replacement potion right away." Colette says, dusting off her dress.

"... Replacement potion?!" the man says, looking angry. "Do you seriously think that's going to be enough-" He catches sight of Kratos, and his intent study, and shuts up there, still angry however.

"Oh, come on." Lloyd says, shifting. "Now you just sound like an idiot." the man turns his anger on Lloyd, who is much less intimidating.

"What-did-you-say?!" he hisses. "Do you know who we are?!"

Piers steps before Lloyd. "No." Of course, this is entirely the wrong thing to say to Lloyd in the first place. Lloyd grins, a more bit more like a smirk, but still wide.

"And I should care..... because?" Lloyd asks.

"Why, you little..."

"Stop." the other woman in the party says. "I'd like to leave here as soon as we can. Don't cause unnecessary trouble."

"I agree." the first woman says. "Just let them replace the potion."

Piers glances back at Lloyd, smirking. "Good one." Lloyd gives a more true grin, but hides it as the man turns back to their party.

"Bah... You got off lucky this time, kid." Lloyd glares at the man around Piers for that. "Hurry up and go buy that potion." the road to the right, the way blocked by this party of 4, has the inn on it.

"There's no need to bother, Colette." Lloyd says to Colette.

"No, I ran into them." Colette explains. "So I have to pay for it.."

"... Fine, all right." Lloyd sighs.

"As you will." Kratos says, dropping his hand from the blade at his side, turning toward the left. "There are shops in this direction." He waits for Colette to pass him before heading that way himself. Daichi tags along, since he probably has the largest sum of Gald. They all end up going, Raine because she thinks Kratos is a crazy, Genis because he worries about Raine, and Lloyd because he likes Colette. they enter a store.

"Oh, please!" A young woman's voice reaches them as they open the door. "There's no way anyone would sell those to you at a price that low!" Two Desians stand before the counter, the girl and her mother behind it.

Daichi growls, stepping forward. "Oi! Leave her alone!" Kratos is watching the duo of Desians intently, to the exclusion of everything else.

"You should be thankful that we're even willing to spend money for goods from a rundown shack like this." the first Desian snarls, while the second turns to glare at Daichi.

"Stay out of this." that one snaps.

"Daichi... we're in town. there must be a ranch nearby." Raine mutters. "If we interfere...."

Daichi twitches visibly. "Fine..."Raine turns to Kratos, spotting the way the man was staring at the Desians.

"That goes for you too." she hisses. Kratos blinks, glancing at her, then stares dully at the Desians, his hand away from his sword.

"I don't need to hear that from a bunch of filthy Desians!" the girl continues, glaring at the Desians. "I'm not going to sell one single Gel to the likes of you."

"Chocolat, stop!" Yes, Lloyd, you heard the woman right. the girl's name is Chocolat. She turns to face the older woman.

"But Mom, these are the same monsters that took Grandma, and Dad away!" Chocolat protests.

"You've got some nerve, talking to us like that, little girl!" the 1st Desian snarls. "You keep that up, and we can't guarantee what'll happen to you or this city." Daichi tenses, hand on the haft of his Axe. Raine scowls at him, as Genis grips Lloyd's arm.

"Just try it!" Chocolat snaps back. "As long as Governor-General Dorr is around, we'll never submit to the likes of you!"

"you little!" the first Desian reaches for his whip.

"Stop!" the second says, grasping that arm. "We'll exceed our quota for this year. We need permission from Lord Magnius to go any further."

".. humph.." the first Desian lets his arm go slack, and the second turns to Chocolat.

"Depending on Lord Magnius's mood, you might or might not get to keep that pretty little head of yours!" he leers, and then turns for the door. Lloyd hesitated a moment, then steps aside, not looking at the man, his left hand in his pocket. the rest of the party parts, although Kratos is watching them intently again. Daichi steps away, too, scowling to himself. the Desians leave.

"Well then." Chocolat sighs. "I'm off to work now, Mom."

"Take care.." the woman says, and Chocolat darts out too. "I apologize for what happened." the woman says, addressing the party. "I'm sure you were startled. Please, relax and take a look around." Lloyd slowly nods, moving to look at a rack of bottles, while Kratos stares intently at the door. Daichi seems interested in some magic boosting potions.

"Temporary effects." Raine mentions, looking at the Crystal Lenses next to the bottles, taking up a hand full. Kratos is counting their Gels, while Lloyd and Colette try finding the Palma Potion. Which turns out to be some sort of alcoholic drink...The teens drag Kratos over and he pays for the potion along with the Gels they needed, looking mildly amused as he does so. Raine pays for her sack of Crystal Lenses, and they prepare to leave. Daichi gets a bunch of enhancement potions. They head back out of the shop, and toward the other group..

"...Here." Lloyd looks a tad sullen, but hands over the bottle

"All right then." the smaller man says. "Looks like you're good little boys and girls after all. Just make sure you learn your lesson and don't mess with us again." Lloyd bristles, but Colette smiles.

"Yes, I'll be careful."

"Come on, we're leaving!" the second woman says, tapping her crooked staff to the ground.

"I have to say, that Governor-General Dorr sure was trusting."

"So what are we going to do with that, anyway?" the larger man asks, slowly.

"You're an idiot. We don't have any use for that thing. We're just going to sell it to that geezer on Hakonesia Peak who collects old junk." they leave.

"hehe." Colette says, tilting her head. "Sorry for getting us in trouble."

"...." Lloyd scowls after the other party. "...Those guys kinda piss me off."

"Come on." Raine sighs. "Lets go to the Inn."

"Finally..." Daichi mutters.


	13. Over the River

weeeeee're baaaaaccckkk

Yeah. Some stuff went down. We finally finished the chapter, and then i went PROM!SENIORPROJECT!THE WORLD'S GUNNA DIE!

Yeah. So here it is... There's probably thousands of tiny little mistakes, because my computer commited partial suicide, and i'm working off of open office.... -

I started using skits for added convos, because those are more interesting than day, action in town Day, action in House of Salvation

yeah. If anyone knows things like _when_ all the skits happen in like, the timeline, i will make you eCookies.

If anyone has any toruble understanding what the new character says, Lemme know, and i'll add a big blurb at the bottom translating her. she looses it, so its all good.

If you want a disclaimer, its on the first chaper.i ididn't suddenly inherit namco/bandai. I would sooo love it if i did tho -

* * *

September 16th

* * *

Lloyd walks into a wall. Kratos looks up from his mug of coffee as he sits at the table in the inns dinning room. Daichi steers Lloyd into a chair, putting a mug of coffee in the teens hand. Lloyd mumbles incoherent thank you, before starting in on his coffee. Colette comes out of the kitchen, her hair done up as she holds two plates.

"Here. Breakfast." She holds two plates of scrambled eggs and hash-browns, both with cut fruit to one side, and places them on the table.

Daichi starts eating, glancing at Lloyd. "You okay, kid?"

"mmmhmph." Lloyd says very coherently, as he starts inhaling eggs. Colette's next plate goes to Kratos, and Lloyd starts coughing. Kratos takes a bite of the hash browns.

"Its... very hot." Kratos coughs, setting down his fork.

"It is...?" Colette looks worried. "I'm sorry, I'm not that good of a cook and my taste..." She trails off.

Daichi looks up. "Your taste...?" He makes a circular gesture with his fork, motioning for her to continue.

"Taste... I see." Kratos mutters, before blinking once. "I'm sorry." he takes up his fork again, as Lloyd stares at the mercenary. "I take back what I said. I was too harsh. My tastes are for subtler flavors."

"It's ok." Colette smiles, bringing out milk. "It's the truth." Lloyd gets the feeling he missed half of a conversation. Daichi looks thoughtful, playing about with his food. Kratos eats lightly, most of the fruit off his plate, before vanishing into the kitchen when Raine comes down. Daichi yawns, finishing his spicy meal, still in thought. Kratos returns and takes up a seat off the table with a newspaper in his hands. Lloyd goes through two plates, eyes watering, as the rest of the party comes down.

"We're mostly restocked." Raine says. "After we see what we can find out about seals, let's head to the market and get more food." Kratos sets down the paper, done.

Daichi snags it. "Piers and Shikka are...Shopping."

"I see." Raine copies Kratos's favorite phrase.

"we gunna wait for them?" Lloyd asks, spoon sticking out of his mouth once more. "Go see the governor-general guy and the church with them? Piers was interested in the church."

"No doubt Aquaman is already there bugging the priests..." Daichi turns a page of the paper.

"We'll head to the square. If Piers or Shikka are there, they can join if they want, otherwise, we'll look for them afterwards." Raine decides, standing.

"Ok." Colette helps Genis clear the table, and Kratos is already by the door to the Inn. Daichi has his Desian uniform beneath his clothes. He puts the paper beneath his arm, standing. its past the item shop, named Marble, and over a bridge.

"Governor-General Dorr!" A small boy says, stopping a man with blond hair and a robe, a small girl behind him with her hair in side-tails. "Dad was taken away to the ranch and hasn't come back. Even though I've been a good boy!"

"Hang on just a little longer." Dorr's back was to them, but they could hear the kindly smile in his voice. "I promised, remember? I'll save everyone who's been taken away to the ranch."

"but..." the boy looks down. "I'm lonely..."

"Don't worry." the small, well dressed girl says. "Father is a friend of everyone in this city." She paused. "My Mother died of an illness, but your father should still be alive. I'm sure he'll come back." Daichi is visibly affected by the situation. He seems to want to help...

"...really?" the boy looks hopeful.

"Yes." Dorr says. "They were all taken away because they fought back against the Desians. I swear I'll rescue them." The boy straitens, scrubbing his eyes then smiles.

"..Ok. I'll wait for Dad to come back."

"Good boy." Dorr pats the child on the head. "Let's go, Kilia."

"Yes, Father." the pair move to the large building at the left of the square. Piers runs up to the group, a large battle staff in hand.

"Hey! Look what I found!" He points at the glowing core. "Mana amplifier. Increases spell strength." Its slightly taller than Piers, made from a weird metal.

"Cool!" Genis cheers over it, while Raine's eyes glitter and she wants to study.

"Who was that?" Lloyd asks an old man near by.

"Governor-General Dorr." the old man replies. "He's recruiting soldiers and resisting the Desians. He's a wonderful man."

"After loosing his wife to an illness, he's raised his daughter Kilia all by himself..." a woman says. Piers hands it to Raine. Its quite light.

"Fascinating!" Raine croons, running hands over it.

"As long as Governor-General Dorr is here, we won't submit to the Desians. Even if we're carried off to the ranch, Dorr will come and save us. We believe in him." The old man says.

"The people of this city are really strong.." Colette remarks with a smile.

"That Dorr person must be a great man.." Lloyd agrees.

"Only problem is that I have to stay still when casting...But my offensive spells'll be much more powerful!" Piers says.

"C'mon." Lloyd hops from foot to foot. "I want to meet Dorr." Kratos is staring into space once more, and Colette is talking to a dog.

Piers wanders over. "Who's your friend?" He asks Colette.

"Cookie!" Colette says, the dog wagging its tail.

"Nice name." Piers holds out his hand, waiting for the dog to let him petpet. The dog sniffs his hand, then licks, wagging its tail. it makes a small bark noise. "Heheh. I wonder what he'll think of Shikka."

"He's not mine." Colette tugs a collar out from under the dog's fur. "See? someone else owns him. but there was no name on it so..." She pulls a small bit of Kratos's travel-jerky from her pocket. "Here you go, Cookie!" the dog yaps and nomz.

"Huh. You love dogs, eh?" Piers asks.

"Yep!" Colette says, grinning. It was very close to the Lloyd grin...

"Heeey! Colette! we're going to visit Dorr!" Lloyd yells, waving. He and hte others are by the doors to the large official looking building, Kratos studying one of the armored guards outside.

Piers catches up, showing the staff to Genis. "Its an Imperial Spirit Staff."

"I use a Gem Rod." Raine says, indicating the crystal at the top of her staff. "It's not the best out there, but its what we can currently afford, and what Palmacosta has." They enter the government building.

"Greetings, travelers! We welcome travelers, as per the teachings of Martel. May the blessing of Martel be upon those who journey." Dorr says from behind his horseshoe table, once all enter. Piers hugs the staff to him, looking about. "By the way, may I ask where you have come from? Are you on a pilgrimage for Martel?" Dorr asks.

"Ah.." Lloyd was caught looking curiously about the room. "We came from Iselia. We're on the journey for World Regeneration." Dorr freezes slightly, looking confused.

"World regeneration?..." He asks.

"Colette here is the Chosen of Mana." Genis explains. "The Tower of Salvation appeared, right?"

"... Are you saying that you are the Chosen?" Dorr looks at Colette.

"Ah, um, yes." Colette smiles, tilting her head. "It seems that way, anyway."

"You are." Daichi confirms. "Otherwise, the seal wouldn't have been released."

"..Governor-General Dorr.." the navy haired man off to one side says softly.

"Yes..." Dorr glares at the party. "The chosen was just here yesterday! How dare you defile that name! These despicable criminals must be arrested and turned over to the church at once!" the Green full-plate-armored Guards Kratos had been interested in stream in, wielding halberds. Kratos is watching them like he had the Desians.

"What the fuck..?!" Daichi mumbles, hand on the haft of his Axe. Piers tenses, clenching the staff. Raine doesn't smack him. Colette is startled enough that as she turns around, she trips over her own feet. as she hits the floor, her wings explode out in a cloud of magenta feathers and Mana-crystals. She gets up as the guards take a half step in, Halberds lowering.

"Wow!" Kilia exclaims. "Father, do you see? She has wings!" Kilia points to the softly fanning appendages on Colette's back.

Daichi offers Colette his hand. "Now do you believe she's the Chosen?" Colette takes it, and then dusts herself off, feathers hitting the floor and vanishing.

"She's like an Angel!" the child gushes. "They're beautiful!"

"W..Wait! Everyone, lower your weapons! this person before us is without a doubt the Chosen of Mana!" Neil says hurriedly. Kratos gives a faint sigh as the guards turn and troop out, dropping his hand from sword hilt, turning to watch the men once more. Daichi is still tensed. Piers relaxes slightly. Neil seems to be fighting the urge to throw himself at Colette's feet as the girl remains hovering a half inch above the ground, her wings out. "There is no mistaking the angel wings that are on your back! Please forgive our insolence, Chosen One."

"Ah, um, please, it's okay." Colette smiles. "Um, um... it's all right, really." She tries to figure out how to calm the man, furling her wings.

"Try putting the wings away." Daichi offers.

"Or I could cast Sleep on him. Give him a few minutes." Piers suggests. Colette blinks, and her wings thin down to a single wedge, and vanish in.

"Everyone tells me I'm not very chosen-like at all." She tries soothing Neil.

"But this means..." Dorr says slowly. "The Chosen we gave the Book of Regeneration to was an imposter?!"

"..wait a minute..." Lloyd says, rewinding this in his head. "You said something about the Chosen coming here already. What is the Book of Regeneration? What's going on?"

"I'd say that it gives info on the seals. And this lot gave it away without verifying it was the real chosen. Who was this person?" Daichi says, looking at Dorr.

"Of course!" Lloyd comes to the realization after Dorr explains that the book was a valuable artifact that had been passed down the Governor-General lines. "It must be those guys that were giving us trouble earlier!" Lloyd remembers the random people and the Palma Potion incident.

"We had received information that the Chosen's Group was headed this way, so we naturally thought it was them." Neil sighs.

"In times like this? The Desians are looking for the chosen and you didn't check?" Daichi, since almost being attacked due to mistaken identity, is kinda pissed.

"Are you stupid or something?!" Genis snaps, right on Daichi's heels. "Now what are we supposed to do?!"

"I am terribly sorry.." Neil says.

"I can't believe this!" Genis continues. "Do you use your eyes at all, or are they just there for decoration?! You humans are-" Raine slaps her brother across the face.

Daichi wouldn't go that far, but agrees wholeheartedly with Genis. "Which way did they go?" Neil shakes his head, neither of the men know.

"You.. don't happen to remember the contents of that whatever-it's-called book, do you?" Lloyd's calmer than Genis.

"I'm afraid not." Dorr sighs. "It is, after all, written in the language of the Angels, so only members of the church can read it."

"Oh, I know!" Colette says, smiling brightly. "Let's try asking at the church. Maybe the Priests know."

"Good idea. Maybe they have copies." Daichi says.

"Let's give it a try." Raine says. "Any objections?" Kratos stops staring intently at Dorr and Neil, and turns for the door.

"You have my deepest apologies, Chosen One." Neil says, before they start heading out. Piers turns, following Daichi who follows Genis. They make it to the church.

"... Lloyd." Lloyd jumps as Kratos sneakily makes himself known to be standing behind the boy.

"Gah! what?"

"...." Kratos looks aside. "... would you like to train?"

"I can help. I'm sure Lloyd can work on his Magic Defense." Piers offers.

"Uh... I guess." Lloyd stops, taking a step back from the door so that Colette and Raine can enter. Kratos is watching Piers.

"....You will miss the meeting with the church." Kratos doesn't exactly seem comfortable talking without being talked too first. Lloyd looks confused.

"Do.. you not want Piers to come?" Lloyd asks. "He uses the same sort of style you do, doesn't he?"

"No." Kratos says. "My fighting style focuses on taking out as many enemies as fast as possible, with more emphasis on strength than speed."

"Whereas I tend to go for one at a time, taking out the strongest and affecting morale." Piers explains.

"So.. you'd both be teaching me." Lloyd looks like he's not particularly liking the idea now.

"..." Kratos watches him out of the corner of his eye. "... You will be better prepared to protect the Chosen." Kratos said the right thing. Lloyd jumps into the square, grinning at them both.

"Let's go!"

"Here is fine." Kratos seems amused. Piers jabs the staff into a crack on the stone square with a clunk, getting ready. Daichi goes into the church.

"Oh, Chosen One!" The lead pastor turns to their party, recognizing Colette on sight. "Do you remember me? I'm Marche. I trained as a Priest at the Martel Temple."

"Of course I remember you." Colette beams. "It's so nice to see you again. So you've become a Pastor now?"

"Yes. Ever since the Tower of Salvation appeared, i have eagerly awaited the arrival of the Chosen. The legend of Spiritua will surely be of use to you." Marche says.

"Spiritua gave her first sermon here, right?" Colette asks for confirmation.

"Yes, that is correct. The legend of the world regeneration from that time was written down in the Book of Regeneration and was given to the royal family. It contains a record of the location of every seal." Marche confirms that they need that book.

"Do you keep a record of its contents here, by any chance?" Raine asks.

"No, it was not compiled by the church. Would you like me to request Governor-General Dorr to show it too you...?" Marche asks.

"That... won't help." Colette sighs.

"Yeah. The Governor gave it away." Daichi comments.

"He thought a group of imposters were us, so..."

"that's terrible." Marche seems more irritated about the imposters.

* * *

"..Your defense is wide open." Kratos tells Lloyd after knocking him down again. Piers jabs the staff toward Lloyd.

A dark aura starts forming beneath the teen. "Shadow!"

"Guardian!" Lloyd yelps, throwing up the green-shield bubble around him as he crosses his blades. The shadows jump on Lloyd, bouncing the boy back, the bubble holding. Lloyd yelps, bouncing across the square backwards inside his minty green bubble with shadows clinging to its surface.

"Ground!" Rocks fly at Lloyd, conjured by the staff. Lloyd cancels his Guardian, then summons it once more, at the full strength. the rocks hit it, sending him skidding back a few inches, but the barrier holds. Kratos shakes his head, then lunges back in, dodging Pier's spell as he moves to draw Lloyd into combat. Piers pounds the staff. "Petrify!" Tendrils of energy snake out to seize Lloyd's limbs. Lloyd catches Kratos's down swing in the v of his two blades, grunting, then slams his knee for Kratos's groin. the mercenary twists back, pulling his blade free, and Lloyd jumps into the air, back flipping to land toward the edge of the area. They had spectators a few paces beyond where Lloyd lands.

"Demon fang!" Lloyd shouts, drawing his blade up at Piers.

"Shielda!" An energy shield forms. Lloyd grimaces, and then backs up, flicking his attention from Piers to Kratos.

Kratos is watching the church, and then he sheaths his blade. ".. we're done here."

Piers pants, lowering the Shielda. "Wow. This staff...Rocks!"

".... why do you use two blades...?" Kratos asks Lloyd gets back up.

"Because if one sword has the power of 100, 2 swords have the power of 200." Lloyd says, wiping of sweat. Kratos gives Lloyd a blank look. Lloyd looks startled. "W..why are you looking at me that way? With pity...?" Colette and the others come out of the church as the crowd dissipates. Raine moves to make sure none of them are injured.

"What should we do?" Colette asks. "The Pastor didn't have a copy of the book. Shall we just go looking for the seals using Remiel's words as clues?"

"I think we would be better off getting hold of the book of Regeneration." Raine says.

"Raine, you know you're more interested in that book itself than in the location of the seals." Genis sighs.

"Damn." Lloyd says, sheathing his blades, then hitting his fist into his palm. "It looks like we don't have any choice but to chase after the imposters."

"And when we find 'em, I'll tear 'em limb from limb." Daichi growls.

"not.. what I was going to say.." Lloyd says, glancing up at the large man. "Remember what they said? they're planning on selling off the book of Regeneration to some old geezer at Hakonesia Peak."

"North, then." Raine sighs. "there is a road to take, fortunately."

"Lets restock, and find Shikka." Genis says, heading for the market. It isn't that long after noon.

"Still gonna kill 'em..." Daichi snarls.

"oookay.." Lloyd inches away from him, and Kratos is uninterested in the world again.

"Meet at the inn in an hour." Raine says. Shikka is arguing with a stall owner over an item. Lloyd, with a shadow of Kratos, are looking at swords. Kratos merely is there to sell one he picked up in the Triet Ruins- a stiletto, and Lloyd is trading his Mumei for a pair called Rapier. Genis is looking at Kendama, and pockets his toy, buying a new one. Raine moves to see what Shikka is arguing about, as Colette finds another dog. Shikka is arguing over a glowy stone. The stall keeper is convinced that its some sort of crystal. Shikka is saying its a Laguz stone. Raine whips out her book of Just About Anything, which includes minerals and all that wonderful nature-earth stuff, reaching over to pick up the rock to compare it with pictures.

"It IS a Laguz stone! I can feel it." Shikka protests.

"An' I'm sayin' its a type'a quartz!" the stall owner retorts.

"It's not." Raine says, looking through the pictures. "If it was a type of Quartz, you'd likely feel a particular kind of Mana affiliated with it. This color, it should be giving off more Light, or Earth would be affected. It's not Quartz."

"Told ya." Shikka says.

"Fine! Take the blasted thing!" the stall owner thrusts the gem at Shikka.

"Thanks." Shikka tells both Raine and the stall owner.

"Your welcome." Raine closes her book, putting it into her sack. "We know where we need to go now." she tells Shikka. "We'll be ready to leave soon."

"I'm done." Shikka says.

"Same with me. we can head back to the Inn, then." Raine turns and leads the way. "By the way. What is a Laguz stone?"

"It means that I don't have to wait to transform." Raine leads the way back to the Inn. Colette, and Kratos are already there, the mercenary sitting near the dock with Noishe nearby. Piers pounces on Noishe. Kratos leans away, as Noishe whines in protest.

Piers hugs the dog. "Hi." Noishe whines, and Lloyd returns with Genis.

"Noishe says you're squeezing too much." Lloyd comments, sitting down to inspect his new swords more closely, cleaning them lightly with a cloth.

Daichi sweat drops. "Remind me never to give Piers Caffeine ever again."

"I think I agree." Genis mutters, watching.

"Are we all here?" Raine looks over them all. "Looks like it. Lets see how far we can get today." Kratos nods, swinging his pack into place, and Noishe struggles free of Piers so they can head out.

* * *

September 21st.

* * *

It takes them four days of traveling before they get close enough to the mountain range to enter the forests that start crushing the road, rather than the wide plains and hills they had been traveling. All good weather.. until that day.

"Head into the trees." Kratos says, holding his shield above his head to keep most of the water off him. Colette nods, looking miserable, as Lloyd sneezes, his hair flopping into his eye sight. Kratos leads the way into thick forest, shaking his hair on occasion. It makes it stick out and up more. Lloyd is sneezing every few minutes, rubbing his nose and looking utterly miserable with his hair plastered to his face and head. Piers enjoys the rain, bouncing about. Raine seems chilled, holding her shoulders and shivering. Colette is glancing from Lloyd, to Kratos, on occasion, but she says nothing.

"Lets see if we can find someplace more sheltered." Genis says, watching the rain continue to fall on them, making hollow noises on Kratos's shield. The man seems more withdrawn now. Raine agrees, as does Lloyd, and the trio of teens lead the way into the deeper parts of the forest. Until Lloyd walks into a matte green and brown wall.

"What the hell?!" this is accompanied by a sneeze. "Who puts a wall in the middle of a forest?!"

"Desians." Kratos says shortly, watching the wall intently, forgetting his shield umbrella. Noishe whines, miserable, and sits, staying put.

Daichi looks at it. "Hm. Think my ID'd still work?"

"You want to bring the Chosen.. inside a ranch...?" Kratos asks, voice a cold, dead hiss. "Never mind the fact that Lloyd is a wanted criminal, according to them...?"

"We could at least look." Genis mutters. "I don't hear anything going on..."

Daichi frowns. "Smells different...Burnt..."

"Lets go see." Genis moves for the left. "The one at Iselia didn't smell that way.. and that Desian base in Triet just smelt cold."

"And lightening-y." Lloyd mutters, shaking his hair out. They found the gate... Or what was left of it. the craters in the ground nearby steamed and hissed with teh rain, but there was no fire.

"What the..." Colette whispers. Slowly, Kratos draws his longsword.

Daichi draws his Axe. "This can't be right..."

"Its... destroyed." Genis whispers. Inside is a mess. The building had once jutted from a cliff face, more beyond, but now it was a devastated ruin, parts of the stone walls tumbled into the yard, covering and covered by bodies. the armor of the Desians, the rough clothes of the human victims. Lloyd, Genis, Colette, they stare in horror, Lloyd's swords forgotten in his hands. Daichi drops his Axe, numb. Shikka can't enter due to the smell and Piers looks as if he's going to throw up, leaning on his, thankfully, tall staff. Kratos gives it a once over, his eyes flicking over the lot as green tinges Lloyd's face.

"We should move on." Kratos dismisses the yard. "If there are any lingering, live Desians.. we should avoid them." He sounds as if he doesn't quite want to.

"Kratos, how can you say that?!" Lloyd shouts. "There could be survivors!" He angrily indicates the yard with one arm.

"I-I agree." Piers mumbles. "We should search..."

"Do you suggest we look through them all?" Kratos asks over his shoulder, meeting Lloyd's, then Pier's eyes with his own calmly dull crimson ones. Lloyd jerks, glancing back over the destruction, his face turning more noticeably green. "You want to spend the next few hours looking through that, for someone we might be able to save?"

Piers glances at Lloyd. "Ghk..." His chivalry vs. his need to throw up. Not a pleasant match. Colette makes the decision for them all.

"Look!" She jumps, pointing into the yard. "Something moved!" she grips her skirt, and dashes into the remains of the ranch. "I think someone's alive!" Lloyd looks startled, a flicker of a similar expression darting across Kratos's face.

"Colette!" Lloyd and Genis shout, following her, Kratos on their heels. Piers and Daichi follow, Shikka still unable to enter.

"Chosen, it isn't safe." Kratos grasps Colette's shoulder, preventing her from getting closer to the person she had spotted. Raine reaches them then, and they kinda watch as the bit of rubble shifts, showing a heavily battered woman in the burlap cloths of a ranch-victim. she rolls over, coughing in the rain as it washes some blood from her silver-ish hair.

"Move!" Piers is surrounded by the yellow aura. Any remaining rubble is moved away. the woman jolts, like she had just noticed them there just now, and freezes up, watching them intently with wide eyes, one swelling shut from a dark bruise on her rather filthy skin.

"Professor... please..?" Colette whispers, not even trying to move away from Kratos. Raine sighs, studying the woman, before gathering Mana, and kneeling near her, on a flat section of stone. Piers cuts in with a Ply spell, as though he had sensed Raine's intent. The healing flicks about her, and very little changes. Raine frowns, casting her own healing spell, and it has the same effect, the visible wounds heal only part of what the spell should have done.

"It did so little.." Raine mutters. "There's so much left to heal.." Raine gathers Mana again, and the prisoner spoke quickly.

"If y'kin git dis off mi, Ah kin hel miself." And horribly.

Piers grabs his staff, pointing the glowy end at the collar. "Forcea!" Instead of being widespread, the spell goes to break the collar. It absorbs it, taking the magic from Piers. the woman coughs, as the dark-metal of the collar starts to heat, pressing back from the force of the spell. she forces her fingers into the gap between the collar and her rubbed-raw neck, trying to steady it, and breathe. her right arm doesn't move properly, and remains by her side.

"... Null steel." Kratos mentions, eying the ring of metal.

"What do we do?" Piers mutters, drained.

"Lloyd." Raine had been running her hands around the ring. "I found a lock. We need your lock picks." Lloyd blinks, looking sheepish, a 'how did you know i had those' sort of look. he pulls the slim pieces of metal out from the hem of his gloves, taking up a spot next to Raine to work at the lock on the ring of matte black material. Raine frowns at the blood she finds on her hands. Lloyd makes a noise of satisfaction, pulling the collar away. The woman immediately looks a bit better, no longer so ashen under the dirt that clings to her despite the rain. Green sparks flicker around her as she knuckles her neck slowly, gingerly. Raine sets her arm and heals that, while Kratos takes the collar from Lloyd, snicking it closed.

"Best keep that. In case Daichi gets restless." Piers teases.

"OI!" Daichi snaps. Kratos shakes his head in one swift moment, looking a little ill himself.

"No." Kratos hisses. "When placed upon a person, any magic they hold, or are under, is negated. All spells cast upon the wearer thereafter become diminished, the more the closer to the steel. Any magic the wearer intends to cast, fails."

"Ah kold had tol'ya tha." the woman says, again poorly. "Ma'ic only blu up in mi face." Daichi looks rather sullen, glaring at Piers. "Stop'd tryin. Dem desian's none to nice ab'ut patch'n us'ns up." she coughed, as the healing lights flickered and darted into her torso.

"We can't stay here for much longer." Kratos says. "All this dead will be free, easy food for monsters, they will have started converging already." he curls his arm to the opposite shoulder, and hurls the collar into the forest with a muted crash. Daichi twitches slightly, looking away. "We should be on our way." Kratos continues.

"We can't just leave her here." Genis protests, despite the fact he didn't mention of everything the sort. The woman had stopped healing herself, looking ashen once more.

"Can we take her back to Palmacosta?" Colette asks. "After we finish business in Hakonesia Peak? Maybe someone will know her there. this ranch is close enough."

"Dis weren't mi firs' 'ranch.' A'fore dis one, fancy dress'd was squinty eyed. A'fore dat, red-hair'd... and purple hair a'fore him." she rubs a temple gingerly, the swelling receeding. "Ah had run off, from one-eye, one hand, a'fore dat." Kratos apears to be thinking, tapping his sword hilt occasionally, like he's counting. Daichi blinks, remembering something. He steps back slightly in shock.

"No..." Daichi mumbles.

Piers glances at him. "You okay, big guy? You've turned white as a sheet."

"..." Kratos seems to have come up with something, and frowns at this. He starts tap-counting again.

"Watch my finger." Raine holds a finger up before the woman. "Don't move your head." She moves her finger in various patterns. "What's your name?"

"Dun got one." the ranchee says, watching the finger as Raine told her to.

Daichi blinks "N-No...It's nothin'..."

Piers looks away, not believing a word of it. He nudges Lloyd, whispering to the teen. "Daichi's hiding something. Seeing this woman is troubling him...Wanna try and force it out of him?"

Lloyd tilts his head. ".... maybe." his hair is dipping heavily into his face again. "Not.. here, though." he sneezes, looking about the ruins.

"How many fingers?" Raine holds three up. "Nonsense, everyone has a name."

"Dis ma'y." the thin woman holds up the same amount of fingers. "Dun kno wot it's call'd, tho. the num'er." she watches them all again, flicking her wary, fearful eyes across them. Daichi definitely seems troubled by this woman's appearance.

Piers sits up, looking out back out of the ruined gates at Shikka. "Poor guy. His nose must be too sensitive..."

"If ah dun 'member it.. Ah dun have one." the woman says, a tiny bit bitterly. "All dem Desians call anyone is.. things like vermin, swine. bitch, inferior be'in, inferior critter." she rubs her arm, not looking at any of them as she rattles this off, still awkward with her speech. "Ah dun think all us'ns in the.. ranch's all named things like that. They call us num'er's too, Diff'ren' num'er each.."

"33-724..." Daichi mumbles under his breath. Lloyd glances at him as the woman freezes up, her wide eyes flicking over them all before on Daichi.

"How ya kno' tha'?" she asks, drawing her arms close to her torso, knees slowly inching into what would be a fetal position if she shifted a bit more.

"I-It's on your..." Daichi seems to think for a mere second. "Shirt. The tab. I saw it. Thought it a bit weird a number was there, s'all..." Crisis averted...For now. Piers still seems VERY suspicious.

"..." she twists her shirt to find the tab. "... so tha's wha' this is... But num'er's ain't a name." Genis goes cross eyed as he tries to figure all her speech out.

"Well, we'll figure something out." Raine stands stiffly. "I can't heal you any more, nor can Piers or you." she doesn't mention Kratos's healing abilities because she wants him able to fight, and she doesn't know about Daichi's. Daichi can barely cast Aqua Edge. Piers is the only healer who can effortlessly heal without burning up too much power.

Daichi shivers slightly. "Y-Yeah. For now, let's get outta here. It's too wet to hold a conversation..." The woman looks confused, and Raine helps her to her feet. even standing curled over as she was, favoring one leg and hunching her shoulders, she was taller than Kratos.

"This way." Kratos turns, leading the way out of the mess. Colette follows him, occasionally smiling reassuringly at the thin woman who was firmly next to Raine. Daichi seems to lag behind the others, distracted. They meet up with Shikka at the gate. The Laguz eyes the woman, who is about as tall as him, but probably a hundred times thinner. the woman eyes him back with 'someone's gunna hurt me, I just know it' eyes. Kratos's words prove true before they manage to get completely out of the gate. A small pack of wolf-monsters comes out of the forest, targeting the healer and the battered woman.

"Raine, look out!" Lloyd shouts, cutting into a wolf as Kratos spins, unsheathing into another. Raine pulls up Force Field.

Piers decides to use up his Psynergy. "Deluge!" The rain gets heavier around a certain wolf, starting to drown it. Daichi draws an Axe, starting to help Lloyd hack away. Shikka stays behind the force field about Raine. Unfortunately, the woman was on the edge, and it buffets her away. A wolf hits the shielding bubble, and uses it to change direction, targeting the injured woman. She stumbles back, staring at the wolf, before her fingers close about a pipe. she swings it, and catches the wolf in the head, the motion causing her to stumble around in a circle and fall onto her back with a muted noise.

Piers smirks. "Time to unleash my newest spell...Geyser." Several torrents of water burst from the ground, blasting the wolves into the air. this takes care of the remaining wolves. Kratos flicks his blade, then realizes that it wasn't about to clean itself in the downpour, and cleans it on a wolf's pelt. The woman is staring at the wolf closest to her, then the pipe in her hands. Lloyd finishes gathering items, cleaning his blades the way Kratos was.

"So you can fight." Kratos says, straitening and glancing at her.

"Ah.. dun know." Piers doubles over. The combination of Deluge and Geyser seems to have taken its toll on the boy. Daichi whips out a cloth, cleaning off his Axe, slipping it back into its holder. He then makes sure that his clothes are completely covering the Desian uniform beneath. Ever since that encounter in the item shop, he's worn it. "Ah.. just watch'd." she continues, softly. "when.. desain's ... kill'd monsters. or beat usn's." she was trembling now, either from the cold that came with the soaking water, or from something else. "Dun.. wan'ta get out, free, den get eat'n..." she seems to notice she's sitting on a pile of rubble covering a Desian, and yelps, getting up hurriedly.

Daichi walks over, nudging the corpse with the tip of his boot. "Dead, I think...Or at least paralyzed..."

"Dead." Kratos confirms.

"Don't worry!" Lloyd says, shaking water from his hair. "Dwarven Vow #2!" Genis groans. "Never abandon someone in need!" Lloyd grins at the startled woman, who is clutching her pipe like it was more real than the ground under her bare feet. "We won't let that happen."

"Even if that person in need is a Desian?" Daichi asks, raising the prominent question of vows/hatred.

Lloyd scowls. "If the Desian needs something so he can kill or capture people, then hell no." Raine slaps Lloyd upside the head. the woman looks like she's ready to bolt into the forest at the mention of Desians. "Oowww..." Lloyd groans. "... but.. if he's injured, and not in a raid, then I guess." Daichi grunts, seemingly satisfied with that answer.

Piers frowns slightly. "All this prejudice..." He shakes his head.

"It is a common enough desire." Kratos says, completely ignoring their previous topic, referring to the last thing the woman had said. "It is in line with my clients wishes." the mercenary sheaths his blade, watching the woman from under his sodden bangs. "As long as you are in the party, you do not need to worry." he eyes the pipe, then the forest. "Keep the pipe; you might as well learn to protect yourself so you do not have to live in fear once on your own." she blinks, looking confused as she shifts her pipe in scar-heavy hands. Raine shakes her head at the strange actions of the mercenary, who has turned to head into the forest.

"This way." Raine says, taking step next to the thin woman as they head into the forest. Kratos seems to know where they are now. Piers stumbles slightly, Shikka loaning him some support.

"Easy...You okay?" Shikka asks.

"Y-Yeah..." Another yawn. "Just tired..." the rain stops by the time they get out of the forest, to the edge of the road and the base of half a days walk to the small house and gate that is Hakonesia Peak. It's also dark. Kratos stops, cleaning his blade of forest creature blood on some sort of broad-leafed plant, before sheathing it. Noishe whines as Lloyd sets to starting a fire, and the thin woman jumps, jerking back and away. She trips over her own feet, falling onto her back as she stares at Noishe, nearly braining herself with her pipe. Noishe whines, looking.. surprised, as he watches the woman, but stays put. Lloyd notices, and gives up on starting a fire, Kratos taking over with a flicker of red sparks.

"This is Noishe." Lloyd introduces his doggy companion.

"You'll have to excuse the smell." Piers chips in. "Wet dog isn't a pleasant odor." Noishe whines, looking hurt, and then yips at Lloyd, asking for confirmation that will crush his spirits or smile and a he's lying. Lloyd blinks, and sneezes.

"... yeah. He normally smells better." the woman watches them with wide eyes. she looks like she completely expects Noishe to jump her and try to rip her throat out. Lloyd notices. "Don't worry! He's nice. He doesn't want to hurt anyone."

"A coward, more like." Daichi comments, walking over.

"True." Lloyd agrees, but this doesn't do anything to help the woman feel more comfortable. Noishe whines, making a face at Daichi. "See?" Lloyd carefully pries the dog-creatures mouth open, showing the maw of sharp fangs, and shoves his hand in there after peeling his glove off. she looks like she expects blood as Lloyd tries to get the dog to shut his mouth.

"Lloyd, what are you doing?!" Raine asks sharply.

"The stupid kid's trying to get the dog to bite his hand off." Daichi says. He occasionally glances down at the woman.

"Lloyd! Stop it!" Piers pulls Noishe away from the teen...Somehow...Petting him. Noishe is quite glad to let go of Lloyd's hand, looking reproachfully at Lloyd.

"see?" Lloyd has no mark on his hand at all. "He really doesn't want to hurt anybody." she still looks pretty much terrified of the lot of them.

"... " Raine comes over and smacks Lloyd upside the head. "Please leave her alone."

"But Noishe wanted to help her! And she's scared of him, so I'd thought I'd help.." Lloyd protests, holding his head.

"I think that's convinced her that you're insane." Daichi hunkers down by the woman. "She'll trust us when she's ready...Or not at all...You can't rush these things, Lloyd." Piers is still petting the rather sodden doggy. she looks at him like she expects something violent out of him as well, slightly shifting out of the immediate reach. Its the same look she's given all of them but Raine, Genis and Colette, one of expected hurt. Like she expects to be hurt, doesn't understand why it will happen, but won't question it anyway.

"Daichi is right, that is hardly the way to calm her down." Raine sighs, face-palming. Daichi just squats there, watching her calmly. Slowly, she sits up completely, drawing her knees to her chin.

"Daichi, I don't think you're helping." Raine sighs.

"Stew's done." Genis says, taking the pot from the fire, then grabbing more wood to make it larger, so they get all of their blankets and such dry. "... we don't have enough bowls." he pauses, looking at their supplies.

"I am not hungry." Kratos says, not looking at any of them.

Piers looks up. "I've got a spare. I always carry a spare set of everything." He pulls his pack towards him. "Oh, Professor, I'll need the Mercury Star back. Just for a few moments."

"Hm?" Raine looks at him, then nods, reaching for her pack under her coat. "Alright." she fishes the sack out, then passes it to Piers. it doesn't take her long to find it. "Out of curiosity, why?" Kratos takes the only slightly filled bowl, as Genis was going to feed the man even if he wasn't hungry, and Genis passes one of more broth than actual meat and veggies to the thin woman.

"Gonna augment my new staff with it's Psy...I mean magic." He takes out the large staff, inserting the gem into the tip. A large beam of pure aqua blue light fires from it, lasting a few minutes. This makes the woman jump, twisting she manages to avoid spilling her bowl while staring at what Piers is doing, trembling. Lloyd sighs, and Genis tries to distract her from magic with a bit of bread he had dug out from somewhere, trying to get her to eat, but she's watching with a sense of 'if I don't watch it, it will hurt me.' The light fades and the gem is ejected into the air. Piers catches it in it's mythrill bag. "Want it back, professor?"

"Yes." Raine says, before smacking him upside the head. Lloyd is sitting near Noishe, eating now that the light show is over, and the woman is clearly terrified. Genis is still trying to get her to eat, and Colette is blinking away the lights.

"Oooooow! What was that for?!" Piers whines.

Raine points at the thin woman, hoping the woman's expression and eyes would be enough to get her message across. "you're scaring her." Kratos is scowling at his hand.

"...45."

"what?" Colette asks.

"As our.. berserker friend." Kratos says, not looking at anyone as he cleans his bowl near the fire. "..could tell us, the ranches have a system. Captives that last more than 15 years are sent to a new."

"Cycling. One Ranch's methods differ from the others." Daichi confirms.

"Therefor, she is at least 45. if she was nearing the end of her term at this ranch, then she is nearly 60." Kratos says, cleaning his bowl out and setting it down. "her age varies further on how long she managed to remain free, and if there were ranches before the Iselian ranch, as well as how long she spent there. Between 46 and 70, at least." Kratos glances at them in the silence his words create.

Daichi sighs. "Yep. Elves and some half-elves lead long lives."

"Then she's either an elf, or a half-elf." Genis muses.

".. wot's that?" she asks, around a chunk of bread. Watch as the entire party regards her with a '.. did she really just say that' look.

"... really?" Lloyd asks, swallowing his bite of stew.

"re'lly wot?" she asks, looking about at them all after she rapidly inhaled some stew and bread when the silence stretched, and before she spoke. "Wot's an 'elf'?" Raine sighs, taking her own bowl, and sitting down next to her. She only scoots a little away, Genis gathering his own food.

"First, what. not wot, what." Raine pulls teacher mode on.

"...whot?" she repeats. Raine shakes her head.

"No. What." You can tell she's thinking this is going to take a long time, even as the healer gets the woman to move with her closer to the fire. "Elves are people who live a lot longer than humans. Lloyd, Colette, and Kratos are human. Genis and I are Elves."

"I'm a human." Piers points out. "Daichi is...Ha...Elven." Piers says, narrowly avoiding a trap. Genis gives Piers a relieved blink and smile, as Raine blinks once, and repeats this for the woman.

"Elves use magic. Half-elves also use magic. Desians are half-elves who capture humans and keep them in ranches."

"Den... Ah'm human?" she asks. Raine face palms.

"Elves and half-elves can live longer than humans. You must be a half-elf or elf." Daichi explains. She doesn't pay attention, her face going green as she darts for the edge of the camp. Raine looks startled for a moment before hurrying after the woman as she gets sick.

"You aren't supposed to wolf down food like that." Raine mutters, helping her stand and keep still grimy hair out of her face. "You'll only get sick..." Piers and Shikka are asleep, Piers is hugging Noishe. Daichi yawns also. Lloyd shakes his head, already tired himself, and Kratos is sitting to one side, watching the road. he's already taking up his Night Watch position. Raine sighs, glancing about, and taking up a spare blanket.

"Nevermind, just sleep." she helps the woman get settled for the night. "We'll work on things tomorrow." she blinks, once or twice, before curling on her side, near the fire. Raine sighs.

"Other than the Chosen." Kratos says, randomly, as Raine starts bedding down, not glancing back at the woman. "our group doesn't look like one that is on a journey to save the world." Raine glances over at the man.

"You still don't trust Lloyd, or the friends he found?" Raine asks. "Genis, Piers, Daichi and Shikka?"

"... the boys are much too young to bear the fate of the world." Kratos says. "You are aware of my feelings for our.. berserker, and I believe the other two can handle themselves. I am merely concerned that they will not be able to handle this journey." Raine shakes her head. "I feel that our newest addition will require more aid than we can provide."

"While I may be an elf... I am just a school teacher from a small village. And you're a mercenary who fights for money." Raine's tone says she doesn't approve of this. "I don't think we're fit to handle the task of saving the world, either, wouldn't you agree?"

"Hmph.." Kratos snorts, a smile flicking into being. "Indeed."

* * *


	14. And Through the Woods

* * *

September 22nd

* * *

Daichi is the first to wake normally, sitting up, yawning and stretching. Kratos watches blankly, before starting up the fire again with a tiny flicker of fire Mana. He then gets the coffee pot back out. It's the only thing they've seen the mercenary make. Lloyd sits up when he smells the coffee, still partially asleep. the thin woman is sitting near Raine, waiting for the woman to wake.

Daichi watches Kratos. "Say...something is bugging me. You can use magic, right?" Lloyd blinks awake with his coffee as Kratos regards Daichi out of the corner of one eye.

"Yes." Kratos finally says, once he's certain he wasn't going to be able to get out of it by ignoring the man. Genis wakes after half a mug to start cooking.

"Then how the fuck can you use magic?!" Daichi snaps. Kratos seems intent on ignoring him, especially since Raine has woken up. the thin ranch victim had taken a half cowering stance behind her, as Raine glowers at Daichi. Unfortunately for the mercenary, this has made Lloyd and Genis curious as well.

"Yeah..." Lloyd muses. "I never thought of that."

"..." Kratos isn't inclined to respond still.

"I thought you were human." Genis muses, watching.

"Meaning..." Daichi points dramatically at Kratos. "You're not human!" Lloyd looks a tiny bit confused, while Genis thinks this is an accurate possibility. Kratos gives a tiny sigh, and runs his hands through his hair, before shoving them aside to show perfectly normal, shell-shaped, human ears.

"I was born human." Kratos says.

"Magic can synthetically alter external appendages." Piers points out.

"..." Kratos thinks on this point, and then nods in agreement, dropping his hair again, his hands returning almost listlessly to his sides. "I am human, for the most part." he revises his statement.

"So you're half-Elven?" Lloyd asks, tilting his head. For a man who got incredibly violent around Desians, it could make sense. But Kratos shakes his head.

"I am told my grandfather was, however." Kratos gives that as bit of info.

"Not with that skill. You'd have to be half Elven or more. Or...Something else." Daichi points out.

"Something else...?" Kratos asks, tilting his head to one side. there was no actual smile on his face, but somehow the motion made him seem curious and smiling at the same time. "what do you mean? I have merely spent hours of my childhood practicing, and practicing."

"I thought that blood determined how powerful we can get..." Daichi muses.

Kratos keeps his head tilted. "If it is any consolation, I cannot do more than touch elements other than Fire, Lightening, Wind, Earth and Light, with Healing. My skill comes with the manipulation, rather than the gathering, Mana." This makes sense to the Sage Siblings.

"So... you can't reach high level spells." Genis muses.

"If I am aided in gathering Mana, it is possible." Kratos abruptly shuts up then. Daichi seems satisfied, sitting back down. Lloyd seems confused by the sudden way Kratos is staring off into space, but Genis delays any questioning of the mercenary by pronouncing food done. Once again, the woman eats entirely too fast, and too much, and has to go sick up in the bushes. Daichi watches her sadly, looking away. Shikka is looking rather pale. Raine is trying to explain to her, once again, that she doesn't need to scarf food down that way. Lloyd is looking a bit green himself, and inwardly angry. Kratos is continuing to ignore the world, and Colette is trying to help Raine convince her.

"Dun eat it fast, sommat else will git it." this shuts Raine up for a moment, before they work on this path to convince her otherwise. Daichi suddenly stands, walking slightly away from the camp. Piers reads. Noishe follows him, and they manage to get the woman to eat slowly enough not to sick it up again. Kratos tilts his head, blinking once back into reality to watch silently.

"It will take us half the day to reach the peak." Kratos indicates the road with a tilt of his head, voice once again dull and far-off. Daichi sighs, petting the dog, looking sad and depressed. Shikka still looks pale, weak. Noishe whines somewhat comfortingly, letting him. "It would be best for her to stay here." Kratos continues. he seemed to have been thinking while ignoring the rest of the world. "Bringing her into civilization, as small as this one is..."

"..I understand." Raine sighs. "we have no idea how badly she'd react with even another 5 people, given her reactions to most of us."

"We can't just leave her." Piers says. "What if she gets captured again?" This gets a reaction out of the woman, who had been looking rather puzzled. Lloyd sits near her, and sighs when she recoils.

"Yeah, kinda irritating when they talk about you like you're not there, isn't it?" She gives Lloyd a standard 'I don't get it look'. "Noishe doesn't like towns either. He'll stay." Lloyd puts in.

"I saw no presence of Desian activity through the night." Kratos adds this as well.

"...Hello?! Blown up ranch!" Piers points out.

"Correct. There was no activity. Quite likely, they were all killed during the events that ruined the place." Kratos sounds like he was pleased they were all dead, or displeased he wasn't able to kill them himself.

Daichi returns with Noishe. "I could stay." And, hanging in the air, unsaid, but obviously what he means is: 'Cause I ain't welcome here...' Lloyd looks uncomfortable. Lloyd looking uncomfortable and his proximity to the thin woman makes her look frightened of the world. Not that far of a stretch from her current expression, and she started inching for Raine.

Colette looks worried. "Are.. you sure we can't bring her with us?"

"In her current state, both mental and physical, it would be a poor choice." Raine sighs. Daichi folds his arms, sighing. Piers looks away, distracted.

"And, there is no place to purchase clothing." Kratos seems to finally look uncomfortable with leaving the woman alone. she seems to be having some sort of internal conflict, looking about, before sitting firmly.

"Ya'll... have sommat.. importan' to do... Don'tcha." She says, slowly. Raine only makes minor corrections with her sentence, and she repeats it more correctly, but still wrong.

"Yes." Colette beams, and the woman blinks. "I'm the Chosen." the woman blinks uncomprehendingly.

"Um.. She's going to regenerate the world." Genis points out.

"Martel." the thin woman draws the connection. "... go." she's holding her pipe. "I kin hit thin's."

"Can, things." Raine absently corrects. "Unfortunately, I agree with Kratos." Lloyd is having an internal argument, clear on his face.

"H-Hey...Where's Shikka?" Piers says, suddenly.

"Huh?" this is enough to startle Lloyd out of his thinking, and he glances around. the woman draws her knees up to her chin, sitting calmly, though occasionally she trembles. "I thought he was here...."

"Well, he ain't..." Daichi growls.

"We gotta look for him..." Piers says. Lloyd is visibly worried, and Kratos looks absent again as the bladesmen stand and move to look. the woman sits still, out of their way. Shikka is on his knees in a clearing, shifting constantly between human and lion, yelling out in pain occasionally. Colette alerts the person closest, who is Genis, but Kratos is already homing in on the noise. He stops at the edge of the clearing, watching with his head tilted and arms crossed. Again, it gives him a look of curiosity.

"What's wrong?" Colette asks, Kratos stopping her from getting closer than he was.

"No idea." Kratos says shortly. Piers watches, horrified.

"Don't get too close...Stay out...The...Arrgh!!" Shikka tries to say. It seems that something is forcing him to transform. Something painful. Colette gasps, and tries to do the opposite, but Kratos takes a quick step, standing firmly in her way, one hand pushing her back.

"He's hurting! I should help him!" the girl protests up to the mercenary.

"He himself told you to stay back." Kratos doesn't glance back or down, watching still. "Good idea to listen, wouldn't you say?" Lloyd comes up, with Raine and the thin woman shadowing her.

"S-Stay o-out the...Circle." Shikka howl-roars once more, shifting into lion form.

"I agree." Kratos says. "Stay back." Lloyd hesitates at the edge of the clearing, his face showing an internal argument. The Laguz thrashes, howls and shifts for about 10 minutes until the man falls quiet, chest heaving. Once this happens, Lloyd immediately darts forward, Raine and her pale shadow, at his heels. Kratos grumbles, but Colette twists away, and he follows her follow them. The big guy seems merely tired out, no physical injuries present.

"You ok?" Lloyd asks, trying to help him stand. he's strong, but given Shikka's girth, it probably doesn't do much. "Seriously?"

"That sounded like it was painful." Colette murmurs, as Raine probes him lightly with Mana to see if there were any internal wounds.

"I-I'm fine...Really..." Shikka pants. the woman's eyes are fixed on Shikka's back.

"... scars." she whispers. "... lots.. of scars..." she tilts her head. "...."

"Huh...?" Lloyd blinks. "yeah, he does have a lot but..."

"...like me." she reaches for the back of her shirt, but Raine stops her.

"you don't do that." Raine sighs. Shikka manages to rise to his knees, shaking lightly, still shook up. she blinks, looking confused, then spits on one forearm, rubbing it against her grimy clothes, then holding it back out. Scars coat her pale skin, overlapping in sets of three, sets of five, single, strait like blades and curved like whips, blotched like burns. a little below her wrist was an indented one like a stab wound. Lloyd blinks, as Colette gasps, and Raine looks sour.

"Ranch, too?" Daichi is adopting a Kratos like attitude whenever the ranches are mentioned. "were ya in one?" her voice was small, and curious, as she watches Shikka. Lloyd blinks, noting other oddities under the grime, and realized the scars continued. Even her face, which Raine had helped her clean, was spider-webbed with tiny scars.

"Erm.." Lloyd wonders if he should cut in for Shikka.

"I-In a sense..." The big man replies.

"...?" she tilts her head, looking confused, then ignores it. "Ok." she sounds strangely like Colette, cheerful.

Kratos coughs. ".. we should be heading to Hakonesia peak." Shikka gets shakily to his feet, taking a few shaky steps.

Raine frowns, watching him. "perhaps Shikka should stay with her, Noishe and Daichi." she grimaces at the awkward sound of the statement, but shakes her head anyway, seeing no other way to put it. the woman glances from one large male to the other, then to Noishe, who she shies away from, strangely going behind Shikka.

"Y-Yeah...I need time to recover..." Shikka mumbles.

"guess its a plan then." Lloyd mumbles, but he seems better at ease with this plan than the previous ones.

"Back to the camp." Genis says, heading back ahead of them. The thin woman looked around for a moment, before scooting closer to Raine while the others packed a bit. hesitantly, she plucked at Raine's sleeve.

"... letters?" she had a piece of paper, from somewhere. "and.. num'ers?" she gave each word a line down the paper. Raine blinked for a moment, and she repeated, still kind of cringing away. Raine understands, then writes down the alphabet, and numbers per letter, so that each letter was next to a number, in order from A and 1, to Z and 26. Daichi wanders over, watching. Hesitantly, the thin woman thanks Raine, then backs over to earthy spot, plopping herself down. as the others gather off, with promises to be back before dark, she's using a finger to scrawl in the dirt. Daichi hesitantly approaches, not knowing what her reaction might be. She doesn't notice him until his shadow crosses her work. it looks like a bunch of random squiggles, but if you squint, it almost seems like she was writing numbers and letters down in random patterns. Looks a bit like l33t. Daichi squats down, watching. She spots him, and freezes, like a deer in headlights. or whatever that would translate to. Nothing more than that, her hand posed to carefully scribbles something into the ground, her eyes fixed on him.

He raises his empty palms. "Not gonna hurt ya..."

She doesn't say anything, but then, quickly. "Heard tha' a'fore. Lie, it was." she shuts up again after that, looking like she expected a blow. Mouthing off to Desians had gotten her in trouble more than once. Daichi merely waits, palms visible. she watches him, and then points to the numbers. "...what's this one?"

"Three." he holds up three fingers. the woman blinks, then hastily writes it down twice. she pulls at the little plate on her tattered shirt, wiping a bit of dirt off it to squint at it upside down, then turns her paper over the same way to point to the next. Daichi holds up 7 fingers. Since he didn't vocalize it, she gives him an incredibly blank look.

"Seven." she writes this one down too, then frowns.

"... what's.. their names?" she draws her finger down the list. Daichi recites the alphabet. She looks confused, then indicates the numbers. "... these ones..." Daichi recites the numbers. She blinks, drawing connections between the spoken and written, and then finishes scrawling down her number in the dirt. then, seemingly remembering how to do math, she starts breaking up the numbers, in levels across the ground, and then drawing the letter that went with a number under them. Daichi watches, frowning. it doesn't make any sense the way she did it, but backwards it does.

"What'sit read?" she points to the shoddily drawn letters, A U R I A N.

"Aurian...?" Daichi sounds it out.

"Aurian..." the thin woman says, repeating him with the same inflection of vowels, then alters it, saying the name-like word again. ".... Aurian." she nods, pulling back from her dirt-writing. "I'll be Aurian."

"Your name?" Daichi asks.

she shrugs, watching him. "Dunno. Like it, so why not?" it was also her watching his expression. if he showed disapproval, she would likely change it.

"That's true." Daichi says. the thin woman, Aurian nods quickly, once, then frowns.

"... You?"

"My name? Daichi..." Daichi says, blinking to understand what she had said.

"Daichi." Aurian repeats it, then points at Shikka. "... namae?" she somehow gets another vowel in it.

The laguz is asleep at the moment. "That's Shikka."

"Shikka." Aurian's bright gold eyes flick over to Noishe, and she frowns for a moment, trying to recall. "... Noishe."

"Yep. Noishe. C'mover here." Daichi beckons to the dog like creature. Noishe eyes them, before getting up with a yawn, and a look that says 'don't expect that to work all of the time.' Aurian moves away from the large creature as he approaches. Daichi glances at Aurian. "He won't hurt you...Go on. Pet him." Aurian watches Noishe warily, who watches her in return, sitting down to flick his tail over his forepaws. She's completely content to go through life without touching the creature, her posture says. Daichi does it first, petting the dog between the ears. Aurian watches him, warily, with eyes that had turned dull. Slowly, she holds her left hand out, palm up, to Noishe. Noishe blinks, and leans forward, sniffing.

Daichi smiles. "I'm gonna go take a nap, 'kay?" She glances at him, eyes still startled-wide with everything as Noishe licks her palm. she yelps, drawing back, but Noishe just whines reassuringly. she watches him, unsure if he wanted a response from that. Daichi settles back, watching. "Go on. Don't be scared." Now she just looks plain confused. She watches him for a moment, before turning back to Noishe, holding her hand out again, tentatively. Noishe sniffs it like before, and then moves his head. She flinches, half drawing her hand back again, but Noishe is using her partially curled fingers as a scratching post. Daichi settles back, yawning, closing his eyes. She blinks, when she realizes that the animal was scratching the underside of his jaw with her fingers, and she twitches them, slightly. Noishe makes an appreciative noise not quite a purr- he was a 'dog' after all, and she blinks, scratching under his chin. Daichi settles into sleep, and dreams...

_The thin elf curls away from the other drab-clad captives in the cell with her. For their part, they were fine with ignoring her, eyes fixed on the grates and doors that were the way out, the way Desians came in. Two Desians stand guard outside the cell. It's obvious they chose the two most intimidating two for guards. The larger of the two yawns, glancing at his partner who is pacing, glaring into the cell. "Filthy animals..." _

_"Take it easy Daisuke...We still got 7 hours guardin' 'em..." the humans move back further in their cell as the pacing Desian growls, but the thin elf, Aurian seems curious. By the way the other slaves watch her; they think she's mentally damaged for scooting closer to the bars. Their cluster in the cell had started to impede on her bubble, might have been the reason for it. The one known as Daisuke glances at his comrade. _

_"I know...Gah...Daichi...Why is guardin' so borin'?" _

_Daichi shrugs. "Dunno..." His attention is caught by the elf. She looks like something's wrong in her head, a sort of vacant look that says that her surroundings don't quite register. She slumps over on one side, her matted hair kind of shiny. She watches them dully. The humans shake their heads, but don't pull her back - if someone else gets hurt, it's not them. _

_Daisuke glances at Daichi and smirks, approaching the bars. "What ya lookin' at?" She blinks up, not lifting her head. The humans crowd back, not going to come to her defense. She looks like she doesn't understand what he's saying, but flicker of fright does cross her face at his tone. He smirks. "Inferior creature...Can't even talk." He glances at Daichi. "How 'bout we loosen her tongue, cap'n?" _

_Daichi smirks. "Go for it, kid." The humans' crowd back, not looking at the thin elf as she kind of watches them with confusion, but seems to be more staring into space. Above the burlap shirt is a matte black collar. She doesn't seem to want to try moving. _

_Daisuke opens the door, grabbing her by the collar. "Now...What's ya number?" He growls. She blinks at him, her hands twitching up to hold the collar. _

_"33-724." it was sort of understandable, mumbled low and pronounced wrong. _

_He smirks. "Good. Now. What were ya starin' at?" _

_This comes out as unintelligible garble. she says some things, and then manages to say "boots." _

_Daisuke glances down at his feet. "Yeah? Wanna see 'em closer?" He then, abruptly, dropkicks her. this gets no noise from her other than released air as she hits the bars. The humans inside flinch, but she just crumples, eyes closed and arms curling over her chest. Pain flits across her face but doesn't stay. _

_Daisuke saunters over, placing a boot on her head. "Good enough to look? You ain't fit enough to lick the soles, are ya?" This gets a faint muffled noise of pain, but the thin elf doesn't try to get away. _

_Daichi wanders over. "Easy. Lord Forcystus'll have our heads if she dies." _

_Daisuke growls. "Always have to ruin my fun...5 more minutes. I wanna watch her squirm like the worm that she is beneath my boot." _

_"...Fine." she does seem to be moving a bit more now, trying to move her head. She doesn't seem to remember that she has arms she can grab with, just trying to move her head to the side rather than face up. One human whispers to another that the elf must be damaged in the head. Daichi bangs on the bars with the haft of his Axe. "Shaddap!" _

_Daisuke leans in. "Answer. This close enough?" she makes weak noises, muttering half words. it seems she doesn't know one to say, and can't shift her head to nod. He increases the pressure. "Repeat that?" she tries to repeat everything she had said previously. Now she remembers she has hands, and tries to force them under his foot to free her head a bit. Tears are starting to form in rather confused eyes. Daisuke growls, kicking at her stomach with his free foot. Aurian grunts, air leaving in a whoosh yet again. But she still attempts to make half-gasping words to continue her repeating. _

_Daisuke grunts, picking the woman up and slinging her in the cell. "I need somethin' to eat. Want something?" _

_"Nah." Daichi sits down, watching his partner leave. Aurian lays there for a moment, on her side, before slowly moving back to her previous position by the bars, against the wall. She's staring ahead again, into the hall vacantly. Daichi smirks, moving his foot into her eye line, moving it about. She doesn't do anything. It seems she had scrambled for a word the last time. After a moment, she reacts, flinching a bit._

_Daichi grunts, standing. "What to do...?" the humans begin stirring a bit, their internal clocks telling them that food should be coming soon. Aurian remains still on her side. Food comes in, and Daichi passes it out, Daisuke watching. Once done, he stands over the elf. The humans fall to their food, but she doesn't take notice of hers. Daichi watches. A human comes up, eying her food rather than her, and finally she moves. She throws her arm out, snatching the bread and curling into a ball. The human goes for the bowl, as Aurian rapidly shoved the hard bread into her mouth. The human finishes her soupy gruel, and retreats, as Aurian checks her shirt for crumbs. Daichi dislikes this, and gets Daisuke to snag that human. The thin elf looks worried, startled, and she tries to crawl for the bars._

_"Protecting this scum, eh?" Daisuke asks, holding the man up._

_"She al'ays lets the li'le 'uns have 'er food!" the man protests._

_"Number." Daichi asks. the man gives it slowly._

_"Good." Daichi suddenly punches the man. A single punch and a flash of bronze knuckleduster. It seemed a calculated strike, as it causes the human to throw up. The human does so, retching. Aurian flinches, curling up again. From the look on her face, she remembers that getting sick/getting hit in the gut hurts a lot too. Daichi tosses the man back into the cell, locking it up, getting someone to clean it up. Aurian curls into a ball, hiding her head under her arm, although it doesn't really do too much. The human coughs some more, but no one bothers to try to help him. Daichi grabs a chair, sitting, rubbing his gloved knuckles. Daisuke seems disappointed. Aurian starts trembling, but no noise comes from her. _

_A female human glances over, and looks like she was going to say something, but doesn't. "..." A small noise of pain comes from the thin elf, and her shirt starts staining._

_Daichi growls, standing. "Get a medic!" _

_"But..." _

_"NOW!" Daisuke skitters off to get one. Daichi bursts in, kneeling by the elf. she's stiffly trying to stay in that position, biting down on one hand to keep from crying out. Her back is bleeding, although it hadn't been hurt. The humans stay put in their corner, watching Daichi, not the door. _

_Daichi rips her shirt off. "What the fuck...?" Two pairs of mirrored cuts run through the mass of other scars across her back, both pairs angled in from her shoulders to her spine. It looks like a scar had been split down the middle, by the scaring around the bleeding wounds. Small dark-red-purple burns appear in patterns. Daichi seems panicked, not knowing what to do. _

_"..It's a fit." the human who had spotted Aurian before says softly. "It goes away, she doesn't remember them, never seems worse for wear after its all done. I hear it's because she's an elf, and that collar prevents her from gathering Mana, so hers goes crazy." the woman doesn't look over as she says this. Aurian's burns seem to be in a mirrored pattern. On the back of her right shoulder was a scar like someone had ripped a nine-footed star-fish out and off of her back, a deep pock mark in the center._

_Daichi carefully puts a hand over her back. "And it does this?" the wounds in her back flare with contained swirls of visible Mana. Aurian makes a pained noise around her hand, her eyes squeezed shut. The collar seems to be heating around her neck, and the Mana vanishes again. Daichi's hand was close enough to feel turmoil of Mana, and collect a few small blotchy burns. Which bubbled and melted the leather of his glove. "What the hell...? This is weird..."_

_"She can't use it. It could go bad." the woman was near the edge of the grouped humans. "she talks some sense sometimes. But not much about Mana anymore." Aurian is trembling, the Mana visible in the gashes swirling again. There is Mana the color of the blotches among the varying normal colors of the Nature-Elemental(Fire, Ice, Lightening, Water, Wind, Earth), Healing, and Light and Dark Mana's. Daichi rocks back on his heels, watching._

_The collar heats up again, reddening the skin under it, and the Mana dies down once more. This repeats twice, and then the Mana doesn't come up again. The bleeding doesn't stop, but she doesn't seem to be actively in pain. Or conscious. _

_Daichi does what he can to stop the bleeding, Daisuke finally returning. "No medics."_

_"What?!" the human woman returns back to the group in the corner, and Aurian is definitely unconscious, blood trailing from her hand where she'd bitten deep. Daichi bandages her up, dismissing Daisuke. She's very limp. And just about skin and bones. The humans just stay clear of them. Daichi growls, not wanting to become attached. He forces himself to stand and leave. The humans leave her alone, and she still just lies there. _

Daichi groans, yawning, sitting up, stretching. Aurian is sitting next to the fire. Noishe is whining at her as she pokes some of the logs with her hands, pulling them back to inspect the pads after she touched something.

Daichi frowns. "Careful...That's hot..." Aurian jumps, blinking rapidly and looking around. she spots him, and immediate reaction is to cringe away, but she makes it a half-jerk back, watching him. Daichi stands, stretching. As he's wearing his Desian uniform beneath his normal clothes, his boots are the same as would be on a Desian. Aurian freezes in place, her gaze fixed on his shoes. Now, she seems terrified. a smothered whimper, and she darts behind Noishe. Daichi glances down, blinking.

"Shit..." He sighs. "These aren't mine. I stole 'em." he doesn't get a reply, Aurian's curled into a ball behind Noishe, her arms over her head. Noishe whines, looking confused between Daichi and Aurian, but he doesn't move. After a moment, he curls down, and licks Aurian's face. She yelps, but doesn't move beyond inching back, more terrified of the possible Desian than the large animal. Daichi sighs, sitting back down. Noishe attempts to calm her by cleaning, but she still remains curled into her ball. Noishe's large ears flick and he sits back up, looking off toward the mountain pass. Daichi stands, walking over and kneeling by the elf. She makes a half-articulate protest that she didn't run away, so he doesn't need to hurt her. Noishe whines, trying to reassure her, but she remains in her curled ball.

Daichi places a hand gently on her. "I ain't gonna hurt ya." Aurian whimpers, cringing a little. Noishe sniffs her, and barks, looking a bit worried. He attempts to nudge Daichi's hand off. Daichi nods, moving his hand. "I'm not gonna hurt ya..." Noishe looks off toward the mountain pass again. His string of whines and other noises sounds like a 'stay here, it'll be fine' before he darts off. A teenage boy yelps. Aurian isn't covering her face anymore, but she's still rather terrified of Daichi. Daichi sighs, staying still.

"...stole..?" Aurian asks, tiny voiced. "Not... Desian...?" Noishe comes back, looking pleased with Lloyd, Raine, Genis, Kratos, Colette and Piers in tow. he barks and yips his arrival in a 'I told you it'd be fine' sort of way.

"Yeah. I'm not a Desian..." Daichi says, trailing off.

"Is everything ok?" Lloyd asks as Raine hurries over to Aurian. "Noishe said he thinks she's bleeding..." Kratos moves and sits at the edge of the camp, Genis moving to pull the pot out again, and Colette hovering, looking worried. She spots Shikka, and moves to see if he's fine. Noishe looks proud that his human had interpreted him correctly. Shikka is sleeping soundly, wounded himself. Daichi backs off, sighing.

"Did anything happen?" Raine asks them both. "No monsters?" Aurian shakes her head, but staying in her curled position. She seems confused. Raine sets to healing her again, looking a mix between worried, and angry that she'd need this much yet. "Do you remember anything?"

"Saw my boots. Thought I was a Desian..." Daichi offers. Aurian doesn't seem to like the reminder, covering her head again.

"Well, he isn't." Raine says calmly. "This is the Chosen's party, remember? Desians don't like the Chosen. If he was, he wouldn't be in the party with us."

"... oh." Aurian whispers, curling her arms down and holding her shoulders. The right hand doesn't turn correctly so its grasp is off.

"Remember anything else?" Raine asks.

Piers kneels by her. "What happened to your hand."

Aurian blinks, trying to curl away from him. "nuthin. just dun move right." she waits for a moment, then the next movement was to extend it, slowly like she was fighting with herself to do so.

Piers sighs after studying her wrist. An inch or two past her wrist the bones had fused together, preventing her from turning the hand more than vertical. To get to vertical, she had to use her elbow. "We'll have to re-break it to heal it." Aurian yelps, drawing her arm back to her chest, wrapping her left over it, looking like she wants to disappear, inching back toward Raine. Raine also doesn't appear to favor this method, frowning a little.

"Only thing we can do, sorry..." Piers says.

"It may not be necessary." Kratos is standing nearby, watching the pot where Genis is cooking. "There are plenty of trades that do not require a fully functioning set of hands. If she intends to learn how to fight, however, it would be a handicap."

"..." Raine doesn't seem to like the mercenary currently.

"... learn... to fight...?" Aurian whispers, looking at her hands.

Kratos nods, glancing down at her. "To defend yourself, so that the Desians will have their work cut out reclaiming you. To protect others, so none will die with you around, if that is what you wish." She shudders at the word Desian, and blinks a few times at protect.

"...protect... means...?" She whispers, staring at the ground, sitting up.

"Prevent, or stop, harm from reaching others. Not letting people get injured while you're around." Raine says, glaring at the mercenary's back.

Aurian is silent for a moment, looking at the ground. Then she thrusts her right arm forward, toward Piers. "Do it." Piers takes it, snapping the bones with a bit of effort, casting Ply Well to heal the broken bone. Aurian is trembling, but she made no noise. Raine shakes her head, muttering about crazies as she crosses her arms.

"Dinners done!" Genis says, oblivious to all this, and Colette comes skipping over for a bowl or two. She intends to give one to Shikka. Lloyd disentangles himself from wrestling with Noishe.

"What... now..?" Aurian's voice is a tiny bit hoarser. Shikka stirs at the smell of food, sitting up and yawning. Raine checks her arm while Kratos wanders to grab his bowl and sit at the edge of camp again.

"It may be a little stiff, but you should be able to move it perfectly fine." Raine sighs, standing. "Remember, eat slow." she goes to get a bowl for herself and Aurian.

"What happened, by the way. I see no book." Daichi comments.

"Damn avaricious old geezer wants the statue of Spiritua from the House of Salvation before he'll let Colette look at the book." Lloyd mutters to his bowl.

"Oh, my!" Raine cries out, looking startled. Lloyd jumps, nearly spilling stew.

"wh.. what is it Professor?" Lloyd asks, looking startled, or as if he expects an enemy.

Shikka physically jumps, still half asleep. "Wha'?"

"I can't believe you know the word 'avaricious'!" Raine looks thrilled. Lloyd looks a bit stunned.

"Professor...."

"And you used it properly too! That's fantastic!" Raine says, still thrilled. Lloyd looks flustered and confused. Piers bursts out laughing. Kratos appears torn between amusement and worry, and Colette looks happy as well. Aurian looks confused.

"Y...you don't have to praise me that much..." Lloyd is confused as well.

"But it's a miracle!" Raine protests. Lloyd takes this at face value.

"hehe... you're making me blush." Lloyd rubs his head.

"Lloyd. she's making fun of you." Genis points out. Piers is literally crying with laughter, rolling about.

Lloyd blinks, realizing this. "Sh..shut up!" He goes back to eating his stew with a scowl.

"But what Lloyd said is correct." Kratos says, returning to the fireside with his bowl, cleaning it and resting it off to one side.

"It also would cost us an incredible amount of Gald to cross the pass, unless we were with the Palmacosta Travel Agency." Raine adds, handing Aurian stew.

"Couldn't we burst our way through?" Daichi asks.

"I suggested that..." Kratos mutters. "But no, it would do us no good with the fakes about if we were to blatantly do something that harms others."

"That.. and.." Raine takes a deep breath, looking over them all with stony purple eyes. "Desians are moving in on Palmacosta." Aurian chokes on her food, looking up. "Their army is out training."

Daichi twitches. "Gah...What do we do? We don't have that kinda cash..."

"We're returning to Palmacosta." Lloyd says, looking up from his bowl. Aurian makes a small noise, looking quickly from one set face to another. "I won't let Iselia happen again!" Lloyd slams his fist into his knee.

"Calm down." Kratos says, although his eyes are active.

"From what I heard from the towns' folk that were at Hakonesia, Magnius was spotted with them." Raine says. "A Cardinal."

"C-Cardinal Magnius?!" Daichi stammers. "I had a run-in with his men..." He rubs an arm subconsciously.

Raine looks at him. "Since their planning an execution, from hearsay, I doubt this attack due to you."

"The shop owner!" Colette cries out, looking horrified. "She's in trouble!"

"That's what I believe." Raine says. Aurian looks at her bowl, slowly moving her hand. "If you're uncomfortable with this, you don't have to get involved." Raine says to her.

Daichi slams his fist into a tree. "We have to help her. And I need to pay the bastards back."

"I agree." Kratos says. "However, it is night. If we press to hard for Palmacosta, we will be easy prey upon arrival."

"We'll set out in the morning, real early then." Lloyd seems to have calmed.

"And take short cuts." Genis says, finishing his bowl.

"And avoid monsters." Colette says.

"I will fight." Aurian says, slowly, looking up.

"You know how to?" Piers asks. Aurian blinks, then shakes her head sadly, looking down again. Kratos walks over to her lead pipe, and picks it up, hefting it.

"... we can work on that." He says slowly, looking it over. Aurian blinks, glancing over. "Instincts are hard to forget, and if she has learned to fight previously, it should be ingrained as instinct."

"Aurian." Aurian says.

"Yeah. We made the name up." Daichi comments.

"I see." Kratos is still looking at her pipe. Lloyd blinks, and then grins.

"I'm Lloyd." This sets off the rest of them into introductions, and Lloyd jerks his thumb at Kratos when the mercenary doesn't join in. "Mr. anti-social is Kratos."

"The kitty is Shikka." Piers says.

"Hm? Wha'?" Shikka blinks. Aurian repeats all of their names, pointing with her healed right hand. she seems slightly thrilled she can use it like her left now. Kratos walks back over, handing her the pipe.

"We can find a better weapon once we reach Palmacosta and deal with the Desians." He'd tied a dagger into the top, giving her weapon a sort of spear like look.

"I'll take night watch. I had a weird dream and don't wanna relive it." Daichi states.

Kratos glances at him, before giving a sighed "very well." and moving to make his bed. Raine sighs as Aurian just sits there holding the pipe, before gently taking it from her and setting it aside.

"Sleep." Raine orders the teens, her hands on her hips. they all sigh, or groan, or cheerfully agree in Colette's case, and move to settle in. Shikka just flops, Piers settling down, too. Daichi sits against a tree, watching. Aurian settles by curling into a ball as close to the fire as possible, and Raine tugs her back, wrapping a blanket around her. Kratos is already still, on his side with his back to the fire. Lloyd blinks, and moves to take a look. The hilt of Kratos's sword poked out of the blankets next to the man. Lloyd cracks a grin, and Kratos opens one eye to look at him. Lloyd returns to his and sleeps. Daichi watches Lloyd, yawning lightly. Lloyd seems to be sleeping fine for a while, but then he begins to toss and turn. Everyone else is asleep, Noishe curled next to Aurian. Lloyd starts making muffled noises, thrashing a little.

Daichi frowns, getting up and walking to Lloyd and nudging him with his foot. "Kid." Lloyd is making half words, something about being his fault, as he struggles with his blankets. Kratos stirs, rolling over. Daichi shakes the boy. "Hey. Wake up." Lloyd gasps, opening his eyes, his hands reaching for the blades that should be at his side, but were off. He blinks a few times, slowly focusing on the world about them.

"Watcha dreamin'? Ya thrashing about like crazy." Daichi asks. Lloyd frowns for a second, rubbing his face.

".... I was falling." Lloyd says slowly. "I was small, and falling... and then.... it was Iselia..." Lloyd looks down.

Daichi hunkers down. "Its fine. Just a nightmare, eh?"

"Damn real nightmare." Lloyd grumbles. "It.. was fairly .. right, the last part.. with Iselia. I don't know where the first one came from."

"Locked memory, maybe?" Daichi asks.

"Huh?" Lloyd gives him a blank look.

"Sometimes we bury bad memories in our heads." Daichi taps his own.

"Dunno." Lloyd shrugs. "I don't remember much of when I was that small anyway..." Lloyd looks at the sky. "Except for stars... and warmth..." he mutters, eyes starting to close again.

"Okay. Get some sleep, kid." Daichi lightly pushes him back.

"mmmk.." Lloyd mumbles, pulling his blanket around him. It doesn't take long for him to fall asleep. Kratos rolls back over. Daichi returns to his spot.

* * *

Yeah. eCookie to people who understand the first half of the(Lloyd's) dream. :D


	15. There and

* * *

Yeah. We still live. And we still own nothing :3

* * *

24th of September

* * *

"Nine beds." Kratos passes the priest the correct amount of change in the late evening, and then the teens follow the man upstairs, already shuffling sleepily. Raine grabs Aurian as she looks confused.

"You are coming with me." Aurian blinks in confusion but follows the healer off to another hall.

Daichi grunts. "I'm gonna go bathe." Fortunately there are two rooms for such things. Raine comes out of one, taking Aurian's ragged clothes with her. She drops them in the fire before going upstairs. Lloyd blinks as Raine pulls out one of her shirts, then looks with dismay at her pants.

"I need a pair of pants." Raine says. Lloyd blinks, Colette tilts her head, and Kratos looks up from sharpening his sword.

"You have some..." Lloyd points at Raine's pack.

"She better have some." Daichi comments, entering the bathroom.

"For Aurian." Raine stresses the elf's name. "Because she isn't going to wear those filthy clothes ever again."

"Oh." Lloyd says.

"And I'm too short." Raine says, crossing her arms. "Any volunteers?"

"Shikka and Daichi are about the same size...but the width'd be too big..." Piers mutters.

"And we're all too short..." Lloyd mutters, looking at the other two teens. Then, as one, they look at Kratos. He's back to sharpening his blade, sitting on the bed furthest into the corner of the room. "But Kratos isn't." the mercenary frowns at them.

"Good luck." Piers states.

"We could just alter my stuff?" Shikka comments.

Kratos glances at them. "Whichever pleases you." He tugs a pair of pants from his own pack.

"It will be until Palmacosta." Raine says, looking from Shikka to Kratos. "After we deal with the Desians, Colette and I will take Aurian shopping for clothes. You'll get yours back then." Kratos leaves the pants on his bed, returning to sharpening.

Lloyd frowns. "If the clothes are just coming back, it'd be easier to use Kratos's pants." The teen was fortunately oblivious to how awkward this all sounds, and he retrieves the dark purple pants for Raine. Raine nods, and goes back to the bathroom where she left Aurian. Daichi comes back shirtless, but wearing pants. He has his Desian junk in his arms and bundles it under the bed. His torso is scarred. Quite badly, too. Kratos pauses in his sharpening, studying Daichi for a moment, before deeming his work finished. The mercenary unclasps his cape, takes the sheath and his shoes off, as well as the gloves, and the sleeves. He lies down, and appears to fall asleep. Lloyd is somewhat awake, he blinks at Daichi.

"Ouch." Lloyd comments. All the beds were in this room.

"Hm?" Daichi looks up. "Hurt yaself, kid?"

Lloyd shakes his head, just indicating Daichi with one hand. "I'm expressing sympathy." There's muttered noise of Raine talking to Aurian from the bathroom.

"Sympathy? Hah. Bit late for that." Daichi snorts. Lloyd shrugs.

"Better late than never?" He says. It sounds like Raine is getting Aurian washed. Genis ignores it for Piers's book, and Colette is already sleeping, her cape off to one side as well.

Daichi chuckles and Shikka seems a bit sulky. "You didn't sympathize with ME."

"I wasn't sure if it was ok to say it?" Lloyd offers, sitting on his bed. He's in his black tank-top and his pants, black socks, gloves, boots, suspenders with twin belts and blades off to one side. "I knew I made the 'ouch' face." Shikka grumbles to himself. Raine returns with Aurian, who looks uncomfortable in the white shirt and violet pants. Her hair is a pale silvery-lavender, and she's just about as white as the shirt. Scars show as a sort of grey against her skin, and her hands are shifting nervously. Raine has a tiny frown on her face, looking a bit wet herself. Apparently she had to help the other bathe...

"Pick a bed." Raine says. Daichi looks away from the elf. Aurian picks one next to the door, still looking a bit nervous as she sits on it. Lloyd blinks a bit sleepily, falling back on his bed.

"Goodnight, all." he doesn't try running through all their names, yawning. Raine takes the other empty bed, as Genis replies, saying her own goodnight. Aurian mumbles the same phrase, looking confused at the bed. She watches Raine, then mimics, curling up.

* * *

28th of September

* * *

"We're here." Lloyd says, solemn, as they reach the arc that was the entrance to Palmacosta. Aurian was shaking, eyes wide.

"It's.. Very quiet." Colette says, looking around the town. Kratos takes off into the store-district, his swallow tails flicking. The rest head for the main square. Kratos returns before they reach the square before the government building, carrying a glaive, and a sack of gels. The glaive he passes to Aurian, who looks startled but her hands slip easily into correct grips. They turn to see wooden scaffolding, the shop-woman, Cacao, on it. And a large red-deadlocked male dropping a towns-human, releasing his grip on the human's crushed neck. The Desians here have dull purple-brown cloth with their armor.

"...woman's execution!" a Desian guard finishes, indicating Cacao on the scaffolding.

"An execution? We...Have to stop 'em." Daichi growls.

"Dammit!" Lloyd growls.

"Mom!" Chocolat hurried out of the crowd, but as she drew close to the scaffolding, the Desian guards swing their staffs in the way.

"Stop right there, woman!" One of the lower-class soldiers shouts.

"If you interfere, we'll make you suffer in ways that will leave you begging for death!" One of the guards says.

"You think Governor-General Dorr will let you get away with this?" Chocolat doesn't back down.

"Dorr?" Magnius seems amused, for he burst out laughing. "Don't get your hopes up, woman!" Magnius raises an arm to indicate they should hang her mother.

"Noo!" Chocolat yells, and a small rock hits him on the head. Magnius turns, and spots a small child with pebbles.

"You.. Disgusting little vermin!" Magnius roars, intent on the child and killing him.

"Stop right there!" Lloyd shouts, darting forward and drawing his blades. "Demon fang!" the energy slices over the ground and hits Magnius. Aurian drops the glaive, rushing over to grab the child and dive back into the crowd. Daichi and Piers emerge behind Lloyd, Piers has his staff in hand.

"Lloyd, stop." Raine follows them, Kratos and the other two teens her shadow. "Do you want to turn this city into the next Iselia?" she asks, and Lloyd flinches, and then gets angry.

"It's not the same! This city doesn't have a non-aggression treaty with the Desians! How can we go on a quest to regenerate the world if we can't even save the people standing right in front of us?!" Lloyd shouts.

Piers pounds his staff into the ground. "What do we do?"

"Lloyd's right!" Colette says, making her fists before her chest. "I won't just stand here and let this happen!" One of the Desians takes a good look at Lloyd.

".. You! You're wanted criminal #0074... Lloyd Irving!" Magnius gets up, smirking.

"Well, now! So you're the boy with that Exsphere! Hahahahaa! This is perfect!" Magnius cackles. "After I take that Exsphere from you..."

"I won't let ya!" Daichi growls.

Magnius ignores this. "They'll make me the leader of the Five Grand Cardinals!"

"You're Wanted Criminal #0059! Daichi Mikasawa!" The Desian who knew these things points at Daichi.

"Get them!" Magnius shouts. One of the Guards casts fireball. Lloyd brings his blades up to block, but Genis twists forward, casting Force Field. His shield catches the spell completely, and Aurian rejoins them.

"Amateurs..." Genis sighs.

Piers concentrates for a moment. "Shadow!" A blast of shadowy spirits engulf and knock all enemies back. Daichi darts forward, Axe gleaming in the morning light.

"Dammit! You worthless idiots! Enough of this! I'll take care of this woman first!" Magnius gestures, and one of the guards who had hung back moves for the trap-lever.

"No!" As the man pulls the lever, Colette throws a Chakram, slicing the rope and Cacao falls to the ground.

"What the..?" Magnius doesn't notice his new shadow until too late, Kratos slashing across his torso. Magnius wears better armor than Vidarr had.

"Powera!" A violet aura darts from Piers to Daichi, increasing the strength the large man already wields, Daichi slicing several Desians in near half. Kratos darts back as the Cardinal's hand swings for his head.

"...Let us respect the wishes of the Chosen." Kratos seemingly had to bottle down something in order to get that line out, his crimson eyes fixed on Magnius. Aurian is holding her glaive, standing in front of Raine and the teens.

"The chosen...?" the citizens are surprised.

"She is the chosen!?"

"The Chosen herself has come to save us?" Piers is casting Powera and Minda.

"Do you realize what you're doing?" Raine asks of Lloyd, watching Aurian to see if the thin woman was injured yet by her stance. "If you defy the Desians, this city may be attacked just like Iselia."

"That's right!" Lloyd snarls. "And I know full well what I'm doing! I won't repeat the same mistake again. I'll destroy them all, the entire ranch!" He slashes the air, a cutting gesture with his full right hand.

"Lloyd..." Piers mumbles. He growls. "Deluge!" The Psynergy aura appears as a torrent of water cascades toward Magnius.

"Lloyd, that's insanity." Raine is worried about the blood-lust like answer.

"They're only after Colette, Daichi and me anyway." Lloyd says with a grim grin. "And besides, we have the Chosen on our side! The savior who will regenerate the world! Right, Colette?" this grin was a normal one. Colette smiles.

"Yup! I'm going to fight for everyone's sake." she catches her flying ring.

"Oh! Lady Colette! The great Chosen of Mana!" the crowd gushes.

"I give up. You're all hopeless." Raine watches Daichi fight, Kratos as he hews his way through Desians, Piers with his magic. "But I'll help, since I'd be worried about you otherwise."

"Professor Sage! Thanks!" Lloyd grins.

"Damn little..." Magnius growls. "Enough of this crap! I'm leaving them to you! Get rid of them!" Magnius vanishes in a swirl of Mana.

Piers yells out. "Prisma!" A huge glowing orb fries most of the Desians remaining and he promptly collapses. Raine hurries over, tailed by Aurian with her glaive. A Desian attempts to jump them, and after flinching back from the man and his whip, Aurian proceeds to use the glaive to take the whip, and cut him to ribbons.

"You over extended yourself." Raine scolds Piers.

Piers manages to stand. "Obviously." Daichi has his hands full with two Desians. Raine passes him an orange gel, standing.

"Wanna charge? Thunder Blade!" Genis fires off a Thunder Blade, the magically created clouds spitting a large spear-like sword of crystalline-electricity to the ground, striking through one of Daichi's opponents, sending out shock waves of lightening through the ground after impact, damaging the other. "Yes! Level two spell!" Genis crows. Daichi pounds the remaining Desian with Aqua until the man drowns. Kratos wanders back into the square, kicking a Desian's helm, and head, before him like it was a rock as he cleans his blade.

"I've taken care of the other Desians in the city." he says, sheathing. Cacao and Chocolat had vanished before the cardinal, and the crowd already dispersed. Aurian was shaking, clinging to her glaive.

"Clean it." Lloyd says, looking up at her. She blinks at him, startled.

Daichi is cleaning his Axe panting heavily. "Revenge is fucking awesome." Kratos smirks, in agreement, before dropping the expression as Raine moves to slap Daichi upside the head, frowning at him. Lloyd explained to Aurian the reasoning for cleaning her weapon, before handing her a small, stained bit of cloth he had used on his own blades. Colette and Genis are talking about Chocolat and Cacao. Daichi dodges the slap, smirking. Raine scowls warningly at them, but wipes the expression when Colette and Genis express the desire to go check on Chocolate and Cacao, back at the store 'Marble's'. Aurian attempts to give Kratos back the glaive when she joins up with them, but he shakes his head.

"Keep it. You can use it, I prefer the blade I have." Kratos then ignores the lot of them, of in his own little world. They troop into the store, then up the back stairs.

"Thank you." Cacao's voice is a little hoarse.

"Thank you so much for saving my mom." Chocolat says. Piers heals any external wounds the two may have. Raine smacks him lightly for using even more magic after collapsing from its use not a half hour ago. "I don't know what I would have done if they'd murdered my mom as well..." Chocolat continues.

"As well...?" Genis asks.

"My husband volunteered in Govenor-General Dorr's army... and was captured by Desians. And my mother.. was also taken to the ranch..." Cacao says.

"It was Grandma that originally founded our shop. We have to protect it, not just for our selves, but for Grandma's sake, For when she returns!" Chocolat says. Aurian flinches, clutching her glaive. "I'm sorry, but I'd better get going soon. It's almost time for the next Asgard Pilgrimage." Chocolat heads for the stairs down.

"Asgard Pilgrimage..?" Lloyd asks.

"I work at the Church of Martel." Chocolat explains. "But it's not like I believe in Martel or anything." Colette blinks, Kratos doesn't seem so bored, and Aurian is trying to fade away.

"Chocolat!" Cacao is shocked. "How can you say such a thing!"

"I know, I know." Chocolat says. "I'm grateful for the Chosen. But Martel didn't protect dad or grandma."

Piers rolls his eyes. "Here we go..."

"Even this time, it wasn't Martel, but the Chosen and her companions that saved Mom. How can anyone believe in a Goddess that sleeps while we suffer?" Chocolat continues. There's a pause, Kratos is smirking in his corner, Lloyd looking like he expecting an explosion.

"I understand." Colette says with a smile. "But I still think Martel exists."

"You.. think..?" Chocolat looks stunned.

"People believe in what they want. I don't believe in Martel...Yet. But, if the rumors are true, I'll get to see her." Piers comments.

"Rumors?" Lloyd asks, a little confused.

"I'm sure she exists." Colette says, tilting her head and clasping her hands before her chest. "She exists inside all of us."

"Well, if the chosen says so..." Chocolat can't seem to decide if she thinks Colette is cracked, or if she's serious. "Then I'll at least try to believe."

"At least Colette doesn't follow the 'believe what I say or I'll hurt you' Method of religious persuasion." Piers mumbles.

Kratos snorts, and Aurian looks confused, Genis shaking his head, and Raine cracking a smile. Lloyd frowns at a sudden thought.

"Are there really people that want to go on a trip right after what just happened here?"

"It's after events like this that both those with and without faith feel the need to go on a journey in search of salvation." Kratos says.

"That pretty much sums it up." Chocolat nods. Daichi is drumming his fingers on his axe and Shikka is browsing curiously. "Well then, thank you all very much!" Chocolat heads out. Lloyd checks his pockets, and then pulls out Gald for some more Apple Gels. Aurian is already near the exit, but she's waiting. Raine remembers her plans, and grabs Colette, and Aurian, before heading off to the shopping district. Kratos waits for Lloyd and Genis to finish browsing, then heads off toward the inn. Lloyd and Genis follow. Daichi and Piers go train in the courtyard, Piers wanting to practice his melee over arcane. Raine, Colette and Aurian come back, the thin elf looking a bit confused yet, but wearing black clothes now. A large shirt, the same sort of armor that Lloyd wears under it, and another shirt under that. Raine has her shirt back, and Aurian looks at the purple pants, then passes them to Kratos. He takes them back with a small nod. Suddenly, an explosion sounds from the courtyard. Kratos is on his feet and out the door, holding his sheath. Aurian looks startled, and moves to a window, as Lloyd and Genis crash down the stairs to look. Raine and Colette turn to look out the window of the room they're in. They see Daichi and Piers, weapons on the ground, panting. Smoke rises up from Daichi, his outer clothes slightly singed.

"I said...No...Magic..." The man pants. Kratos pauses a step outside the doorway, taking a step to the right so Lloyd, who pin wheeled his arms to prevent himself from crashing into the mercenary, stumbles forward without contact.

"Nothing's under attack?" Lloyd sincerely looked like he thought it possible. Both of them look at Lloyd as though he's an idiot. Lloyd blinks about, looking at the sky, the surroundings, then drops his hands from his sword-hilts. Even Kratos was watching him... Although the mercenary seemed to like to randomly do that. "...Sorry." He turns around and walks inside. Both of the males seem to be in sync, falling to their knees and then to the ground, conscious, but drained. Kratos watches them, as Genis sighs, Aurian giving a startled noise. she drops her glaive, which seems to be a new habit, and darts out to check on them. Raine blinks as she comes down the stairs, startled by the thin woman's speed.

"Explains how the Desian's missed her today." Raine mutters, following her as Aurian checks on Piers.

"'M fine...Jus'...AquExplosion is a bit too much." Piers mutters.

"Ya tellin'...me. Ya weren't on t'receiving end..." Daichi growls. Aurian still seems a strange sort of frantic, but Raine gets her to calm down, handing each of the downed males an orange gel. Daichi uses it, managing to get up. Piers doesn't take it, the ambient alchemy from the ocean restoring his energy. Raine frowns, but pockets it again. Kratos has vanished inside the inn once more.

"We're sleeping men in one room, girls in the other." Raine says, getting Aurian to tell Lloyd it was his turn for cooking dinner.

"Shikka'll have the bed near the window..." Piers grumbles.

Raine shrugs. "It's up to you to decide sleeping arrangements." Kratos will always take the middle in a room with a window, Lloyd picked the one he threw himself on, and Genis would pick one near Lloyd. if possible. Shikka can be seen alone on the roof. The large man seems to be hugging his legs, chin rested atop his knees, deep in thought. Lloyd makes a excited noise, crashing down the stairs to the kitchen. Aurian looks confused, standing in the room, before she looks at the window. She gapes at the sea beyond the port, the wind stirring her hair. Kratos glances in, then turns around to sit in the dining room rather than on the bed he claimed. Piers is backseat cooking while Daichi sharpens his Axe with a whetstone. Shikka is, as stated on the roof.

"turn off the lights." Lloyd says with a grin to Piers. Aurian blinks, spotting a ladder to the roof, and clambers out onto it, then the roof itself. She blinks at Shikka, clinging so that the top half of her face was visible from his view, should he glance over. Raine is working on some old homework, and Genis is reading the book again.

Piers stares blankly at Lloyd. "Whhhhhhy? You're not planning on blowing the kitchen up, are ya?" Shikka is gone, daydreaming.

Lloyd grins. A faintly evil grin. "I'm gunna make Dwarven Potluck Surprise!" he moves to turn off the lights, and shuts the door so that the kitchen is pitch black. "Grab stuff and throw it in the pot!"

"Why do I get the feeling that this is gonna be inedible?" Piers mutters.

"It's edible. Wait, we're not doing it right. Here, lemme spin you." Lloyd takes a moment to find Piers, and then attempts to spin the other teen in a circle quickly, so he'd get dizzy. "Anything you touch goes in the pot!"

"Ugh, fine." Piers plays along.

"Yes!" Lloyd spins himself rapidly, then staggers about. anything he could pick up about the kitchen went into the pot. After a while, Lloyd calls for a stop, and fumbles to find the lights again. "Now we let it cook." Lloyd says proudly, flicking the lights on. Aurian climbs onto the roof completely, sitting on the edge. Shikka glances at her, smiling lightly before his face drains again.

Aurian notices, and looks curious. "Sommat wrong?" she asks, slowly.

"It's my dad's specialty." Lloyd adds.

"I'll bet..." Piers mutters.

Shikka sighs. "Just...remembering." Lloyd occasionally moves to make sure its stewing correctly, but doesn't take anything out of the pot.

"If it makes ya sad, why remember it?" Aurian frowns.

"Sometimes we can't help it." Shikka says.

"then try remembering sommat else." Aurian believes this to make the most sense. "Or do sommat that dun let you remember sad things."

Shikka smiles. "Wish it was that easy."

"It isn't?" Aurian seems confused. "But, I dun remember much anyway. Could be the problem." she seems fascinated by the sea. Shikka yawns, watching the sea like a fascinated cat. "How come it doesn't go anywhere?" Aurian asks, frowning at the sea. "It's all.. just sitting there."

Shikka shrugs. "Dunno."

"Does do anything? Looks like a .. big old puddle." Those, she knew about. ".. is it muddy?"

"Nah. Salty." Shikka says.

"Salty?" Aurian frowns. "What's salty?" Lloyd sticks his head out the window.

"Stews done!"

"Go on. I'm not hungry." Shikka stares at the sea. Aurian seems confused by this, but she clambers down the ladder, and follows Lloyd to the dining room. Kratos is frowning speculatively at his bowl, holding a spoon.

".... Why is there a sock in the stew..." Kratos mutters, prodding it. Colette beams.

"Dwarven Potluck Surprise!" she cheers, taking a bowl. Kratos gives a slow blink as Colette takes her spoon, and starts eating. "Look! A whole apple!"

"Wow...An Apple..." Piers gags spitting something out. "I got a tangerine..."

"Look!" Lloyd fishes out a piece of metal, setting it aside, but continues eating. Aurian is eating hers as well, but the way she's doing it says more of 'its food, I eat it' rather than she's enjoying herself like Lloyd and Colette. Kratos has dumped his bowl and wandered off. Raine sighs as Lloyd and Colette recall the time Dirk had made the stew... with things like ores, and tools, and shoes, in it. Piers just face-tables and Daichi is eating something from under the table, obviously knowing what the Pot Luck stew is. Lloyd, however, cleans his bowl out twice, while Genis sneakily manages to look like he ate it, but had been devouring rolls the entire time. Colette cheerfully proclaims herself full, and tugs Aurian along upstairs with her when the woman was done. Daichi quickly makes his excuse to leave, and does so. Kratos is sitting out by Noishe, should Daichi head that way, eating an apple. Raine brings up the prospect of studying, and Genis mentions a school in town. Lloyd seems thrilled with the idea of looking at the much larger building, as a way to get out of studying. So they troop off across town, to the square, where the gallows had already been dismantled, into a building. Genis mentions that he had been offered a chance to study at this Palmacosta Academy. A student, in a uniform, believes that Genis is much too young, since he's barely a 5 feet tall, and Lloyd attempts to protect his friend by mentioning that Genis knows his times tables.

Piers smirks. "Genis? Could you remember the topic of chapter 5 of that book I gave you?"

"Equivalent Exchange, right?" Genis asks, thinking. The other student, is still not impressed. Genis is challenged to a test-off. The higher score would win. Raine's eyes glitter.

"Excellent, we accept." the teacher says. "It's a perfect time to check how much you all know." She says to the rest of the party. Aurian looks confused, Lloyd horrified, Kratos uninterested, Colette thrilled. Daichi groans audibly and Shikka is missing. Piers seems delighted.

"Fine. Second floor, last room. In an hour." the student stomps off.

"We can use an empty room to study in." Raine shepherd them up the stairs, and into a room. "Everyone, study on your own. Genis, let's go over imaginary numbers." Kratos selects a seat to the edge of the room, with a clear way over a desk or two to the door. Aurian finds a spot randomly, and Lloyd and Colette sit near each other. Piers pulls out as many books as he can, task-switching between them all. Kratos seems to be holding one on math, and Aurian is just looking at the book in her hands, delicately flipping through pages. Kratos nudges her, and when she glances at him, startled, he flips her book the correct way up. After a while, Genis pronounces himself ready, and the time up. Lloyd is muttering to himself, and then they head into the test room. the party spreads out once inside, and the teacher administering it gives a copy to everyone. Aurian seems confused with the writing instrument. Piers sits, examining the exam. He smirks. Kratos quietly sets to his work, as Aurian looks utterly confused. Lloyd is mumbling, but not loud enough to distract anyone else, Colette cheerful, Raine and Genis relaxed. After a while, the tests are collected, then the teacher comes back in.

"The scores." The man begins. "Lloyd Irving, 25."

"Congratulations, Lloyd!" Colette cheers. "New high!"

"There was one test covered in scribbles, and the math questions were answered. by elimination, Aurian, 50." She doesn't seem to get it. "Daichi Mikasawa, 123."

"Wait, it wasn't out of 100?" Lloyd asks.

"It's out of 400..." Genis mutters.

"Colette Brunel, 222. Piers, 350. Kratos Aurion, 374. Raine Sage, 400."

"Expected nothing less from the Professor." Colette cheers.

"Mighty Washington... 395. Genis Sage.. 400." the snobby boy looks defeated as Genis smiles. Genis is awarded a honorary place in the school when he declines the place to stay in favor of continuing on the journey. They leave the school, Aurian looking confused as to what the whole thing was about. Lloyd seems depressed, but Colette is doing a good job of keeping his cheer up. until he stops, eyes on the ground, at the bloodstain where Magnius had killed the man earlier that day.

"... Why do they do such horrible things?" Lloyd mutters, staring at the stained stones.

"But I'm glad nothing really bad happened! The city is mostly unharmed!" Colette attempts to distract them. Daichi remains silent on this point.

"Guys... As things stand now.. " Genis says. "Do you think they'll attack Palmacosta again?"

"Yeah, I'd been thinking about that myself..." Lloyd says, softly. "If this turns into another Iselia..."

"... You knew that when you saved Cacao." Raine crosses her arms. "It may sound heartless, but we must focus on the Journey."

"The sooner we finish, the sooner the Desians go." Piers comments. "Right?" Raine nods, but Lloyd makes fists.

"...Did I... make another mistake?" he asks, looking at the city.

"Palmacosta has a militia." Kratos says, looking a bit bored. "Even if we had not fought, surely it would have been only a matter of time before they staged an uprising of their own."

"Even still, maybe I was acting irresponsibly.." Lloyd mutters.

"Maybe. Do YOU believe you were?" Daichi asks. Lloyd looks troubled, like he's having trouble thinking on that.

"But Chocolat and Cacao and everyone were grateful to you, Lloyd." Colette smiles. "And besides, if you hadn't done anything, I think I would have fought myself." Colette declares her support of his actions, and after a moment, Lloyd pulls his smile out again.

"Thanks."

* * *

October 2nd

* * *

"You know..." Lloyd suddenly speaks up after beating down a ladybug the size of his head, thoughtful. "... What was that thing Magnius did in town? He vanished."

"Trapdoor, mirrors, teleportation. All likely causes." Piers comments.

"I definitely felt some Mana." Genis says. "It was a spell of some kind."

"Warped." Kratos says, cleaning his blade and sheathing it.

"A warping spell?" Raine looks curious.

"Yes."

"Do you know how to do such a thing?" Raine presses. Kratos tilts his head, his eyes sliding off toward the horizon.

"Teleportation is an exact art. It involves taking yourself apart, molecule by molecule and reassembling on the other side. Its.. tricky." Piers says.

"....Yes." Kratos says, as if he was forced to answer, crossing his arms as he walks along. "It requires expansive stores of Mana and high skill to teleport more than a few feet in any direction. Unaided, it is very difficult."

"Really?" Colette asks, looking incredibly curious. Lloyd also seems to be more willing to get in the mercenary's personal bubble, watching the man curiously.

"Can you show us?" Genis asks, bouncing. He wanted to see the magic. Colette and Lloyd join in, pestering the mercenary to show them the spell. Raine remains silent, studying his back with a frown. After a few minutes, Kratos is scowling at them.

"If I do so, will you shut up?" he mutters, irritated.

"Yes!" the trio shout, looking pleased. Raine raises her eyebrows as Aurian tilts her head in confusion. Noishe whines, watching them all as faintly blue Mana swirls about Kratos. He vanishes.

"Where'd he go?" Lloyd looks around, unaware of a sudden extra shadow that had Aurian's attention. Kratos coughing, a small set of sharp coughs that weren't him attempting to get attention, made the twin blade realize the mercenary was behind him.

"......." the mercenary releases a long breath, wiping his palm on his cape.

"Cool!" the trio of teens cries, jumping up and down.

Piers grunts. "Show off. If I had the right tablets..." He keeps muttering to himself.

"..." Kratos starts coughing again, then walks off for the House of Salvation. Aurian tilts her head, a slight confused expression on her face as she watches them all, Lloyd and Genis pretending to cast magic and jumping a foot or so in any direction as if they had warped. Kratos doesn't use any magic for the rest of the walk to the wilderness-inn. Piers is still a bit sulky and Daichi seems annoyed at the teens behavior.

He eventually draws his Axe, concentrates for a second and mutters "Aqua!" The two teens get doused with a torrent of freezing water. "Will you two quit it?!" It seems the ex-Desian is a bit touchy. Genis yelps, slipping and falling. The small boy doesn't seem pleased by this, as he scowls up at Daichi.

"It's magic, why aren't you thrilled? It might take a while, but I bet with enough work I can copy it!" Genis says, shaking himself semi-dry. Lloyd sees the drenching in a simpler view.

"I don't have to take a bath tonight!"

"Thrilled? By a cheap parlor trick that might take decades to learn? It took me 50 years just to learn I HAD magic... And I'm pretty sure prancing about won't make you learn faster." Daichi isn't pleased.

"A... chep par'or.. trick.." Aurian whispers, just loud enough to carry, as she clutches her glaive, not looking at any of them. "Tha'.. near'y took all his.. carr'd Mana..." Raine frowns up at the thin woman, then after the mercenary who was continuing to ignore everything behind him.

"Cheap, parlor, that, nearly, carried." Raine says the correct pronunciations of the words.

"So? Casting pink bubbles would take up all my Mana, but it's still a trick. Despite the effort." Daichi points out, folding his arms.

"Just leave me alone." Kratos doesn't quite shove Raine away from him when the healer attempts to give him an orange gel. Aurian watches them, from under her messy hair.

"Trick." she mutters, frowning at her feet, and a bunch of colored lights blink into existence, floating about her head. she indicates them. "... Trick?"

"W-Woah...How'd you do that?" Piers asks, staring at the lights.

Aurian looks really puzzled. "I wanted light?" they shimmer like soap-bubbles, a sort of pearly gray with all sorts of pastel colors running through them. "I... wanted them, and they show up?" she looks like she's worried that's a bad answer. Lloyd is thrilled by this, and attempts to catch one.

"Willpower..." Piers muses ." Weird..."

"Lets get going." Kratos mutters, finally getting Raine to leave him alone - it had taken a cuff to the head and a staring match ending with the mercenary eating the orange gel. "I want a bed." He stalks off, and Aurian's lights flicker, and wink out as Lloyd closes a hand over one more red than the others.

"... head hurts.." she mutters, holding her glaive and following the grumpy mercenary.

"Mental strain... Definitely worth studying,." Piers mutters. Raine is watching Aurian too, as Lloyd frowns at the red quartz he found in his hand.

".... Weird." he pockets it, then shoves his hands in his pockets, wandering after them with his hair still stuck to his face. Colette is looking confused again, watching Kratos, then Lloyd, but she follows. Genis seems to be a little confused, he couldn't tell how the lights had been made.

* * *

Yay!

yeah. its gunna be fun 3


	16. Back Again

we have some guest apearences... And if they get away too lightly, Leon (still) hasn't played ToS :3 sooo... -

* * *

October 3rd

* * *

After breakfast, Colette walks outside, the rest of the Iselians (and Kratos) following her. Kratos had taken Aurian to one side of the building earlier to practice her glaive work, and it didn't look like the elf was too bad at it. She just had to remember to keep a hold on it while running anywhere.

"Chosen one! Everyone!" A Palmacostan soldier approaches them. Colette blinks, turning with a smile. Piers and Daichi freeze mid-strike, about to spar. It's quite funny, especially the poses. Aurian blinks at the soldier, then at Piers and Daichi.

"What is it?" Colette asks.

"I have a message from Dorr." The soldier straightens. "He would like you to temporarily postpone the Journey of Regeneration." Kratos is behind Colette now, frowning at the man.

"What is this about...?"

The soldier blinks at Kratos, then hurriedly explains. "A Church of Martel Pilgrimage Tour Guide has been kidnapped by the Desians." he explains. "In light of this, Dorr has decided that this is the time to gather Palmacosta's forces and launch an attack on the human ranch controlled by Magnius."

"How is that related?" Genis asks.

"We would like you to rescue the kidnapped tour guide while we attack."

Shikka perks up." A two-pronged attack?"

"Yes. Your group would be more of infiltration."

"Who is the kidnapped tour guide?" Colette asks.

"Her name is Chocolat." The soldier tells them.

"Chocolat?!" Lloyd yelps, startled.

"...oh no.." Raine covers her face with her hand. she could already tell where this is going.

"Chosen one, please help us." Everyone turns to Colette. She closes her eyes, thinking.

"I'm in. Even if the others aren't." Shikka states.

Colette smiles, turning to Lloyd. "Lloyd, let's help them." Lloyd blinks as abruptly half the decision is pushed on him.

"Yeah, okay." Lloyd's grinning now.

"...Somehow, I thought you were going to say that..." Raine sighs. Lloyd turns his grin to her.

"Of course! We can't just leave her." Kratos seems to be smirking now.

"Thank you! Neil will inform you of the details once you reach the ranch. Thank you so much for your help."

Piers grinds his staff into the ground. "You changed your tune." He comments to Shikka.

"..." The soldier leaves, and Lloyd stretches, grinning.

"West! To Magnius's ranch!" Lloyd shouts, spinning to head in the correct direction. Shikka just seems to blank Piers, taking a red leather bag from his belt. He starts munching on some sort of dried grass, shuddering at the taste.

"What's that?" Genis asks, blinking up and up at Shikka. Although Aurian seems to want to avoid meeting Kratos's eyes, her favorite spot now seems to be three feet behind him. She looks a bit healthier now. Raine is studying the thin woman from the side as she walks along behind Lloyd and Colette.

"Olivi Grass. It gives me the energy to transform. I was lucky to find this bag..." Shikka explains.

"We've got another day before we reach the ranch." Genis says. "We have to camp at the base of a mountain range first." He's got a folded copy of the map in his hand.

Daichi groans lightly." Ugh... I feel like crap..."

Raine frowns at him, but Lloyd looks curious. "Didn't sleep well?"

"N-Not really...I have a headache, my stomachs churning." He groans loudly." I get ill sometimes, it might pass...in 2 or 3 days."

Raine shifts, moving for him rather than watching Aurian. "If it's a chronic illness, I may be able to help."

"Did you eat bad food?" Lloyd asks.

"More like a reoccurring illness..." Daichi moans.

"Let me see when we reach camp tonight." Lloyd yelps as a giant ladybug attempts to eat his face, the monster as brightly colored as his coat.

Piers whips out his staff, concentrating." Shadow!" Dark, neutral energy blasting at the ladybug. Lloyd staggers back, as another pair of the large insects appears, with a quartet of large, Noishe-sized grasshoppers. Noishe takes one look at them and dashes off, whining, while the rest of them draw weapons. Daichi draws his axe, it hanging loosely from the man's hand. He attacks sluggishly, being hit a few times, but still does significant damage. Lloyd takes it to his head to help Daichi, ignoring the Grasshopper behind him. Raine does.

"Lloyd!" Lloyd twists, spotting the large monster. He yelps, and then yelps again as Kratos jerks him back by a suspender, the monster's blade-like appendage cutting through part of his shirt and something chinking to the ground. Daichi uppercuts the grasshopper, but gets a sickle-stab to the back. The man howls out. Aurian's there next, attacking the hopper. It's not very skillfully done, the green lights occasionally flickering out before they reach Daichi, but it definitely seems that she's trying to heal him, her eyes wide. Raine moves and takes over, while Lloyd gives muttered thanks to Kratos, who tells him to be careful, turning to see if anything else needs to be killed.

Daichi sinks to his knees." Ghk... Th-That smarts..."

Raine snorts. "Smarts. Right. Stay still." She applies a more advanced healing art, as Kratos kills the last thing that attacked them. Lloyd notices something on the ground.

"Hey, Kratos." Lloyd stands again. "I think you dropped something." Kratos starts, his hand flying to the cut shirt of his neck. Lloyd picks a small golden oval off the ground.

Daichi groans, feeling his wound sealing. Daichi stands, feeling woozy still." Agh...Still feel like shit..." Raine offers him a panacea bottle and an orange gel, as Lloyd studies the object.

"... a locket...?" He almost thumbs it open before Kratos snatches it from Lloyd's hand. "Wha...?" Somehow Kratos's expression was strange. "What are you....!" Lloyd got a little angry.

"You didn't..." Kratos starts speaking slowly. "Look inside yet, right...?" Colette, Genis and Aurian look confused.

Piers yawns." Shouldn't look through possessions without permission." Kratos chooses to ignore Piers, his attention on Lloyd. Lloyd straightened with a jerk, not liking Piers's comment or the intensity of Kratos's gaze.

"I didn't!" Lloyd says. Kratos immediately turns around and walks off.

"That's good then." Lloyd bristles.

Daichi still feels ill, bad-tempered and like crap, stumbling, dizzy. "Ugh...Damn...Gels don't work..."

"Kratos!!" Lloyd can't seem to figure out what to say in his irrational irritation with the anti-social mercenary, who just continues walking toward the mountain range. "Yo.. You.. YOU BASTARD~!" Lloyd managed to say something. His head meets Raine's hand for his comment on Kratos's parents.

"I'll see what I can do at camp. We're almost there."

"J-Just something to numb the pain..?" Daichi mumbles.

"I think I can do something for that." Raine says.

Once they'd found a clearing large enough for the party, Kratos had left, moving out of the light of the fire toward a stream. Lloyd had plopped down, claiming a spot for the night, and proceeded to make small, grumpy sighs once in a while, while Colette helped Genis cook. Piers and Shikka just flop. Daichi doesn't seem to want to sleep.

"Lloyd?" Colette takes a bowl, blinking at her friend. "Are you ok?"

"Can you just stop that already?!" Genis asks sharply, as Raine moves over to see if she could use magic to help Daichi. "The food I cook will taste bad if you continue, ok?!"

"Ahh.." Lloyd looks startled. "Sorry."

Daichi flops, wincing. "Save ya strength. Its genetic."

"Honestly." Genis waves the ladle, rolling his eyes. "If you're really thinking that hard about it, you should just go apologize to him." Genis indicates the stream and silhouette of Mercenary on a flat rock with his ladle. "It's your fault, Lloyd. It seems more like your anger is just one sided, rather than you two having a fight but... Trying one's best and not receiving any thanks isn't something to be angry about." Raine frowns at Daichi, testing with her Mana all the same.

Daichi just watches Raine. "Told ya. Genetic."

"... still..." Lloyd looks dangerously close to pouting. "I'm the one who picked it up...!" Raine gathers two bowls of food, sighing at Lloyd.

".. Lloyd. It's good to be kind, but to think of looking inside like that isn't admirable at all, because Kratos needs his privacy too." Raine admonishes Lloyd, and returns to Daichi. "I think I can numb it.." Raine says, frowning at Daichi.

"I've had it all my life. Tried everything."

"Hm." Raine says, as Lloyd makes a face.

"I.. I know that..!" after a little bit, the twin blade gets up and goes to talk with Kratos.

"Does it ever do anything other than give pain?" Raine asks, as Lloyd talks with Kratos, and sits facing the party on the same rock. Something Kratos says startles him.

"N-No. Just the pain."

"well, better than some issues. Eat." Raine pushes the bowl to him. "You've tried various herbs?" Lloyd seems startled again, by something Kratos says, then saddened. Kratos seems to talk for a while, before getting up. Lloyd looks startled again. Daichi eats a few spoonfuls before pushing the bowl away, feeling ill. Raine frowns, but lets him do that, as Aurian picks her way through another bowl.

"..wake up early again... You wanted to train in the morning again, didn't you...?" Kratos says, talking to Lloyd as the teen trails behind him. the man looks not quite be depressed, but not the normal indifferent either, as he moves to take a night watch seat. Daichi grunts, trying to get comfy, sighing. Lloyd looks a bit confused as he returns to his bedroll, eating quickly, then falling asleep. Kratos watches them all for a moment, before turning his attention to the forest.

* * *

October 4th

* * *

Kratos and Lloyd are gone during breakfast, sounds of metal against metal and Kratos's sharp commands reaching them as Genis makes breakfast. Aurian is watching him make the oatmeal. Piers is awake, staring at the sky blankly, seeming depressed or empty.

Genis passes him a bowl. "What's wrong?" Aurian is attempting to get past Raine to play with the fire again, but the healer isn't going to have any of that. Colette gets bowls for herself and Shikka.

"Just missing home." Piers mutters.

"Home..." Genis thinks for a moment, then abruptly looks depressed. ".. yeah. I'd like to have one again." Colette looks saddened, as Raine almost flinches. Aurian has stopped attempting to play with the fire, devouring her oatmeal.

Piers sighs, yawning. " We're all homeless at the moment..."

"Nice way to look at it." Raine mutters. "I'll stick with your optimistic response."

"...It's time to pack up." the party catches the tail end of what Kratos was telling Lloyd as the swordsmen return. "We might not return her."

"... Hey." Lloyd calls. "I think they should be happy." Aurian helps Raine pack up stuff.

Piers sits up." Before we go, I'd like to test magical defense."

Aurian tilts her head, as Kratos stops, looking startled. "..Lloyd?"

"..The thing from yesterday." Lloyd explains, sheathing his blades. "I think both your wife and your kid are happy too. Even now, they've got this guy thinking about them, feeling bad together with them. That's a sure thing." Kratos looks a little stunned as Lloyd continues. "I don't know if my dad is still alive or not.."

"Okay, fine, never mind." Piers grumbles.

"I'm interested." Genis says, and Aurian hesitantly follows the small mage as he returns to Piers. Kratos seems to be really startled by what Lloyd's saying.

"But if he thought about me like that, I'd be really happy!" Lloyd grins. Kratos takes a slight breath, and offers a small smile.

"Yeah..." Lloyd looks startled.

"Hey! Magic Defense!" Genis shouts. "It's real important!"

Piers smiles lightly. "It's more building up a resistance. As far as I'm aware, melee units i.e. Lloyd, Daichi and Shikka, have less resistance to magic. This is a bad thing." Aurian tilts her head as she attempts to process this, Kratos nodding his agreement to what Piers was saying, as Lloyd blinks and gets a simplified translation from Genis. "Mage knights, such as myself, Kratos and Aurian, have a balanced resistance. As I lean more toward magic, I have a higher resistance. Mages like Genis and Raine have a huge resistance, but a low physical defense. We need to fix this. It could be a problem."

"Force field, Guardian, Bastion, Sanctuary and Damage Guard are absolute defense skills." Kratos says, shifting. "for a small amount of time, it is near impenetrable. Spells of the Fourth or Fifth level still injure, rather than dealing near instantaneous death if the shield is erected in time... You hold the spell for too long, or repetitively, however, and it backfires... and it takes a few seconds to cast..."

"Exactly. If we can get a resistance up for level 1 and 2 spells, the damage from the higher spells wouldn't be fatal. Damaging, yes, but not fatal." Piers agrees.

Lloyd nods, understanding this. "So, what do we do?" Genis elbows him.

"He's going to tell us. Wait." Genis hisses. Colette smiles at their antics. Lloyd blinks.

"Wait, you didn't say anything about Colette? What about her?"

"Colette...I believe is special. Divine magic isn't actually my forte. I estimate that her powers will grow with each seal." Piers says.

"Quite likely." Raine agrees. "The Angel, Remiel, said something of the like as well."

Piers nods."Okay. What I propose is that I bombard you with low-level spells, until you start building up resistance. I think that'd work."

"I can help." Genis says.

".. It might be best to do this slowly." Raine says. She's thinking of possible injuries. "One mage a day, while traveling. Otherwise, this journey will start taking much longer. The mage casting can ride Noishe." Kratos has shifted to watch the south-east.

"Okay, who goes first?" Piers asks. Aurian mutters something about only knowing the lights, Kratos seems more interested in moving on, Colette only has Angel Feathers, which is an enchantment on her Chakrams, which are deadly, And Raine only knows a variety of healing spells currently.

Genis looks at Piers. "My spells are all first level, I don't know cantrips like Aurian's balls of light, or Kratos's fire starter."

"And most of my spells have exceeded level 1..." Piers mutters. Kratos holds out his hand, in the view of the party, and makes a candle-flame sized bit of fire dance across his fingertips.

"I have retained my cantrip spells... Although I would prefer to keep my Mana for attacking and healing spells..." Kratos says, watching the flame.

"Then I'll go first. My energy is easy replenished." Piers says. Kratos nods, the small flame vanishing as he closed his hand into a fist. Noishe whines, and then walks over to stand next to Piers, giving Raine a mildly annoyed look for offering his back without giving him any say in the matter. Lloyd leans over to his dog.

"I'll sneak you some of dinner, ok?" Noishe barks happily. They finish packing up the camp, Noishe waiting by Piers as his back had been offered. Kratos points south around the mountain range, and then starts off that way himself. Aurian sticks to his shadow.

Piers refused to sit on Noishe, petting the dog. "I'll sneak some dinner, too. Thanks." He spawns his staff. "Lets get this started!" Lloyd gives him a mildly wary look, but the rest of the party starts to move as well. Raine is watching Aurian speculatively as she walks.

Piers runs ahead, standing atop a hill, concentrating. "Shadow!" Dark shadows spring from the ground, targeting all party members, concentrating on Lloyd and Daichi. Kratos grunts, twisting and rather instinctively throwing up Guardian due to the lack of calling the spell name, as Aurian yelps, throwing her hands up in front of her head. Genis dodges, as Raine misses seeing the spell just about vanish from about Aurian, Lloyd yelping as he's struck, and Colette taking off.

"...Well. That was pathetic..." Piers mutters. Colette hovers at head height as Lloyd gets to his feet, Aurian dropping her arms and looking for another of the shadows, then picking up the glaive she'd dropped. Again. Raine sighs, rubbing her head.

"...." Daichi had managed to dodge successfully.

Piers sighs. "All-Aqua!" A rainbow pattern occurs as the teen casts the composite magic, combining spells. Orbs of water hurtle down towards the group. Aurian isn't as startled this time, she swings her glaive through the orbs that targeted her, the magic that gets close again simply vanishing. Kratos dodges aside this as well, as Genis grins, simply running forward. Colette weaves among the balls of water, flying still, as Raine joins Genis to avoid the drenching. Lloyd manages to dodge this spell. Shikka is targeted, too, dodging the drenching. Daichi manages to cast Aqua Edge in time, combating the orbs. Kratos turns and walks further for the forest east of the mountain range they had camped on. Aurian blinks, then shakes her glaive dry and steals her spot in his shadow again. Lloyd dusts himself down, Colette landing.

Piers smirks. "Delug..."

"Well well. The seer of the seas."

"Huh?" Piers whirls around. Kratos turns and walks over near Piers, and the rest of them follow, Colette's wings vanishing.

"Seer of the Seas?" Lloyd asks, frowning. "Can't anyone See the Sea?"

"Oh, what are you two mid-bosses doing here?"

"MID BOSS?! The names are Agaito and Karst!"

"I know who you are." Piers sighs.

Kratos looks over them, and then asks slowly. "... does this mean I can kill them?" he seems to be in a bad mood.

"Kill us? Hah! You hear the redhead, Karst?"

"Yeah. We're gonna kill you AND take the Star!"

Kratos tilts his head, smirking. "Really now..." At their reply, the entire party readies their weapons, and Aurian looks like she's really wishing she knew how to cast spells.

"Kratos.." Raine smacks him from the back, frowning at the mild look she gets for the blow. "Stop picking fights." Kratos snorts. Raine then frowns. "Like we'd ever let you have such a valuable research specimen!"

"Okay. I know how to handle these jokers. Water spells."

"Ya think you can beat us? Hah!" Karst draws whatever weapon he has. Agaito gets prepped to cast. Lloyd is grinning, and he darts for Agaito, as Genis shouts his understanding, starting his own water spell. Raine moves to the back line, watching as Kratos lunges forward, a smirk on his face as he intends to get close to Karst. His eyes, however, are dark.

"Fiery Abyss!" A seal appears above Kratos and the equivalent of a small meteor hurtles from the center towards the man.

Piers reacts. "Cool!" Piers fires a blast of ice at Agaito. Daichi casts Aqua Edge on Karst. Shikka has disappeared, it seems. Kratos throws up Guardian, and Aurian leaps over the meteor, her glaive swinging down at Karst, flames vanishing around her, intending to hit at the same time as Daichi's Aqua Edge.

"Drown!" Genis shouts, catching his Kendama's ball. "Splash!" It looks rather like Deluge, a torrent of water dropping down on Agaito.

"I knew it. She's absorbing the Mana." Raine mutters, as Colette begins chanting. Noishe was simply gone. Karst yelps, knocked back by the glaive and the Aqua Edge, swearing. She raises the scythe, slicing toward Aurian. Agaito yelps, throwing up some sort of Guardian to defend against the torrents of water.

"Cycle Beam!" He fires the blast at Lloyd.

"Guardian!" Lloyd catches the beam on his shield, which splits it around him.

"Gather those within your protection!" Raine chants.

"Angel Feathers!" Colette throws a Chakram, the holy magic clinging to the bladed ring, and making it multiply into three. Aurian yelps, a flicker of magic forming a slight shield as her cast of Sanctuary fails, but her glaive pole is there in time to protect. The blow still sends her flying.

"Supercool!" Piers casts the huge torrent of ice. Daichi starts combating Karst with his ax. Karst and Agaito keep trying to attack the group with a mix of Mars Psynergy and weapons. Kratos is putting out a fire, as Aurian tumbles to the ground with a soft noise. Seems she hurt herself in the flight.

"Field Barrier!" Raine casts her all-defend spell, prisms of light forming about each party member to aid in both physical and magical defense. The prisms fade, and Kratos moves back, watching. Colette gets her Chakram back, and casts Angel Feathers again.

"Spread out!"

Piers takes center point, facing Karst. "Give us the Mercury Star!"

"I don't have it."

"Liar! Eruption!"

"Torrent!" The two spells collide and start a beam struggle.

"Got it!" Lloyd yells in reply to Kratos's shout, moving actually closer to the other party members as Raine casts First Aid on Kratos then Aurian. "Line up just right.." Lloyd is moving so if he was to make a straight line, he'd hit both Karst and Agaito. "Gotcha! Tempest!" Lloyd jumps and somersaults, blades extended, several times in a line through the air.

Agaito turns on Lloyd. "Flare Wall!" A wall of embers appears mid-air before zooming at Lloyd. Lloyd yelps as he can't stop his attack.

"No! Splash!" Genis casts his spell on the area before Lloyd hits the firewall. And Aurian seems to have gotten on her feet sometime without anyone noticing, diving for Lloyd from the side.

"Take this!" Kratos is gathering Mana for a spell. Aurian collides with Lloyd, knocking them both out of the air, and Kratos finishes readying a Lightening spell. "Lightening!" he casts on Agaito.

Agaito grunts, getting knocked back. "Agaito!" This distracts Karst, the female getting blasted by Piers' Torrent.

"Light!" Raine shouts, watching Agaito. "Photon!" a sphere of light forms around him, a band of light forming to press in. Shards of the light turn, and with the band, press in. Lloyd gets up, lightly singed and damp, and helps Aurian, who seems dazed. Colette opens her wings finally, flying in to help get Aurian out of the melee zone, since she left her glaive behind.

"A-Agaito...!" Karst glares at Raine. "B-Beam!"

"Sis!" Genis shouts, as Raine pulls up Force Field hurriedly, before casting again. "Pancake time!" he shouts, a dark aura gathering over him. "Stalagmite!" The earth rumbles under Karst, and rocks just out. Much larger than the Grave spell Kratos uses. Kratos passes Lloyd an Apple Gel, as Colette deposits Aurian and her glaive far from the main battle.

Karst is knocked back, landing near her male partner. Panting, she glares at the group. "Don't think we won't be back!" She grabs the male's arm, pressing a jewel on her wrist. The two teleport to safety. Kratos walks over to the spot they had been, staring at it for a moment or two.

"...." he walks back. "..well, that was interesting."

"Piers." Raine looks at him. "Why were people with blue skin after you, and this?" she indicates her pack with the Star in it.

"Well, it IS a priceless treasure." Piers says.

"Very true." Raine says with a small giggle. Genis rolls his eyes.

"What about the blue-skin bit?" Genis asks.

"...Some half-elves have color mutations of skin."

"They're human. It was a magical experiment, if I remember." Raine looks like she's going to say something, but then Aurian, who had been standing in the small knot of people, suddenly looks green.

"Over here." Raine hurries over with the tall woman as she starts retching.

Daichi, who is closest, helps support the elf. "You okay?"

"Yucky." she mutters, as she basically doesn't really spit anything out. Raine frowns as she gently probes Aurian with Mana.

"Perhaps she isn't a fire mage...?" Raine muses.

"Huh?" Lloyd asks, looking confused.

"You didn't notice? Spells start vanishing when cast around Aurian." Raine says, Kratos absently watching just about everything. "I think her Mana is low, so she's taking it from spells."

"Amazing. Is that a common ability?" Piers asks.

"I've never done it." Raine says, as Aurian looks a bit better, so that she's no longer acting like she's getting sick. "And I've never even thought it possible before I saw the spells vanishing. Perhaps it's because Sylvarant is in the decline, there isn't enough Mana in the air to sustain her at a normal level, so she's stealing it to make up for it." Aurian herself looks confused.

"Makes sense." Kratos gives Aurian a glance. "She's been stealing a little of mine." Aurian blinks, as does Raine, Lloyd, and Genis. Colette tilts her head in confusion.

"I didn't take anything?" Aurian says the sentence like a question, looking confused, and like she expected to be hit. Raine sighs.

"Just stop walking so close to Kratos, or any of the other mages. We need our magic for combat." Aurian nods, and then Raine turns to Piers. "Enough of the magic-defense training for today. We've had a battle, and we're heading for the Ranch, we'll need all we can regain for that." Lloyd has found Noishe again, and Kratos is starting to slowly walk off for the forest ahead.

Piers seems perfectly fine due to tapping into his building Psynergy reserves. He nods. "Yeah, I understand." They head through the remainder of the plains, hooking back up and around to the forest on the coast side of the mountain range. Once they get into the woods, Kratos halts. He looks strangely intent on his surroundings, rather than the casual indifferent of the usual. Lloyd is looking at three different paths that are well used, and Aurian is shaking like a leaf. Daichi seems tense, hand on the haft of his axe. Piers can sense...Something, staff out and ready.

Daichi, who is out of Aurian's earshot, whispers. "I can't help you get in undetected this time." Raine nods as she hears this.

"Chosen one.." Neil saves himself from getting skewered by Kratos by speaking before he comes out of the middle path. The navy blue haired man looks quite a bit worried. "Please wait."

"Neil!" Lloyd says, pleased that he didn't have to start fighting again so quickly." We heard Chocolat's been kidnapped!"

"...Yes." Neil says. "I wish to speak with you regarding that." He indicates the path he had come out of. "Please, come this way..."

"...It doesn't sound like you have very good news for us." Raine says, slowly. Neil doesn't look at anyone as the healer follows him down the path, Lloyd, then Genis, Aurian and Colette, with her shadow of Kratos, following. The others follow. Shikka seems less timid and scared of humans. That's probably due to the fact he's with ones he knows.

"I would like you all to just go ahead and leave the Palmacosta region." Neil says, once they reach a tiny clearing like space beneath the trees. the teens look shocked, but Aurian almost looks agreeing, before another thought flickers and she's back to trembling.

"But if we do that, what will happen to Chocolat?" Colette protests. Piers is suddenly suspicious of the man.

He shifts his grip on the large staff. "Yeah. Why don't you want us to help save one of YOUR citizens?"

"Yeah!" Genis says as well. "We're supposed to work in conjunction with the Palmacosta army to save Chocolat, right?"

"n-No, that's.." Neil looks a bit pasty.

"So..." Kratos says slowly, dully. "It is a trap." Neil jumps.

"That's what I thought." Piers aims the glowy tip of the staff at Neil.

"Of all the possibilities, it looks like the worst one came true." Raine says, looking like Kratos's voice had sounded. Neil raises his hands in the 'don't hurt me please' gesture. Lloyd is shocked.

"Kratos, Professor, Piers?! What are you talking about?" Lloyd asks.

"It was a mystery that the Desians would simply leave a city with an army alone." Kratos says, watching Neil. Daichi blinks.

"They're working with the Desians!" Daichi growls. "Handin' over prisoners as payment to leave them alone, no doubt."

"Yes, exactly.." Raine sighs. "Choosing not to crush the seeds of rebellion must mean that they are not a threat... They are left alone simply because they have no power, or perhaps, because they are in fact beneficial..."

"..It is as you say..." Neil keeps his hands up. "Dorr is working with the Desians to lead the Chosen into a trap."

"Why would he do such a thing!" Genis wails.

"Sacrifice the few to save the many..." Piers mumbles. "We can't really blame him. He's acting in the best interests of Palmacosta.

Neil shakes his head. "He didn't used to be like this... He always thought of the well-being of the people of the city.." Dorr's Aide rubbed the side of his head. "Even five years ago, when he lost his wife, Clara, he swore to fight against the Desians."

"then why...?" Colette doesn't quite sound broken.

"I don't know." Neil says, letting his hands and head drop. Piers and Daichi seem annoyed at best.

Shikka sighs. "What now? Do we proceed knowing that its a trap, or leave?"

"Please leave Chocolat to me, and go on your way." Neil says. "Please regenerate the world as soon as possible!"

"...Indeed.." Kratos says, his eyes where the ranch was. "It would be best to abandon the situation here for World Regeneration." His words and the way he watches the direction of the ranch don't add up.

"No!" Colette makes fists, semi-glaring about. "I can't just ignore this!" It almost looks comical.

"Colette's right!" Genis says, taking a half step to stand by Colette rather than somewhat near Kratos.

"Both points seem logical." Shikka folds his arms. "What's the point in regenerating the world if we can't save the people in front of us."

Lloyd blinks and Genis continues. "If we leave things the way they are now, Palmacosta may be destroyed like Iselia." He turns to Lloyd. "You think so, too, don't you, Lloyd?!"

"Yes, what you say is true." Raine says. "But I still wish to side with Kratos. If you don't want cities to be destroyed, you should avoid contact with the Desians."

"I dun wanna go in a ranch." Aurian mumbles. Raine doesn't correct her speech this time.

"I think we should vote." Piers offers.

"That's a good idea." Raine says. ".. But... If that is how Colette feels, we have no right to stop her. The only one who has the right to make decisions on this journey is you, Colette, as the Chosen one." Raine pauses, and glances at Lloyd and Daichi, who hadn't said anything yet. "Alright?"

"That was my intention from the beginning." Lloyd says with a fierce grin that said just enough bloodlust. "Remember what I said? I'm going to destroy them all."

Daichi seems intentionally silent. "I have my own personal vendetta, but, as you say, it is Colette's decision.

"still..." Neil protests. "It's all right." Genis says. "Colette is saying this is what she wants."

"Now then, we have two courses we can take." Raine says. "We can go on ahead, infiltrate the ranch, and rescue Chocolat and the other captives. Now that we're at this point, if we leave the ranch alone, it will surely result in a second Iselia. And for a second option, we confirm Dorr's motives."

"I think we should save the humans and THEN confront Dorr. He'll be easier to persuade with an angry mob present." Shikka offers.

"But, if Dorr planned a trap, then he knows the layout of the ranch well." Raine smirks, something that would fit the bloodthirsty Lloyd better than the calm healer. "... Let's talk to him for a bit."

"What are you going to do to Dorr?" Neil looks a little worried.

"You'd better not ask. Raine's punishment is painful." Raine demonstrates by slapping her brother across the face for his smiling comment.

Shikka glances at Daichi. "Pity we don't have an expert with us." Daichi glares at Shikka.

Aurian looks very confused, but says nothing. Kratos turns his attention to Colette. "Logically thinking, dealing with Dorr first is the correct choice." the rest of the party, sans Aurian who really looked like she wanted away, looks at Colette. She thinks for a moment, then turns to Lloyd.

"What do you think, Lloyd?" She asks, smiling. Shikka, Piers and Daichi face-palm in unison. Lloyd blinks as everyone's attention turns to him.

"Eh..." he closes his eyes, to better block out the stares, thinking. It's another internal war, before he opens his eyes again. "Let's return to Palmacosta." Lloyd says, finally. "We'll hear what Dorr has to say for himself first."

Genis nods. "Yeah."

"But let's save Chocolat as soon as we can." Colette says, still smiling. "I'm sure she's scared and lonely by herself."

"My, even Lloyd makes rational decisions sometimes." Raine says with a small smile.

"So it seems." Kratos's comment is very soft. "Well then..." he turns to the way out. "Let's go."

"What should I...?" Neil asks, watching the group.

"Stay here." Lloyd says with a smile that was still dark, but closer to the bright it usually was. "We're going to put the squeeze on your commander. It's better if you don't see it."

"Please watch over the status of the ranch from here." Colette says.

"...all right." Neil says.

* * *

um. I have an explanation for Aurian's stealing, but I shan't tell you much-much.

for the explanation of why she got sick on the Psynergy, when Piers has to have healed her before, was that she got ALOT of Psynergy today, and was trying to convert it to normal-Mana. didn't quite work out. Piers usually would only heal, and she knows not to cannibalize healing magic's. that usually is a bad thing. :3


	17. By the Sea

Yaaay we're back. :3

we had a bit of ... fun... with this chapter. :3

Tales, Fire Emblem, Golden Sun belong to their people. if the critters seem harder than they should, its because we're fighting with full parties, and not 4 people at a time -

* * *

October 10th

* * *

After having spent the previous night in Palmacosta's inn, entering late, they head to the Governor-General's office. Inside, Lloyd looks about the horse-shoe desk, not spotting anyone. Genis peers under the desk, and Lloyd sighs.

"There's no one here."

Piers closes his eyes. "Reveal! This can gaze through any spells." He concentrates, casting the spell. Nothing changes. Colette tilts her head, looking down the stairs on the right where the knights had come up in their first visit.

"I think I hear voices from below..." Colette says. The rest of them pause, listening.

"..Really?" Lloyd asks after a span. "I don't hear anything."

"There's no one up here." Kratos says, turning for the basement. "We should head down to the basement." They head sneakily down the stairs, clinging to the staircase when they heard noise.

"When will my wife..." Dorr spoke, and then stopped. "..When will Clara return to her original form?"

"Not yet." This was an unknown voice. "You haven't paid us enough Gald. You've been paying us less and less."

"This is the best I can do!" Dorr shouts. "The tolls, the municipal taxes, the offerings to the church of Martel... There's nowhere left to squeeze more money from!" Dorr sounds frantic.

"Well... I suppose this will do.... for today." A sound of money being pocketed. "I'm sure Lord Magnius will remove the demon seed depending on your next contribution." one pair of footsteps receded.

"Father..." the small girl, Kilia, said.

"Just a little while longer. Just a little more an... And Clara will be back to normal." Dorr moves. "I'll raise the fees on the pilgrimages and..." Lloyd has had enough.

"What's the meaning of this?!" he darts out into the room. Kilia and Dorr turn to the party as they slowly follow Lloyd. Dorr goes pale. "What's the matter? You look like you just saw a ghost." Piers steps in behind Lloyd, staff at the ready.

"Um, Lloyd...?" Genis groans. That's a really clichéd line." Lloyd frowns.

"Shut it, Genis." Lloyd says, but he's not really angry.

"What are you doing here?!" Dorr snaps. "Neil! Where's Neil?!"

"I'm afraid Neil's not here." Raine says.

Piers smirks. "He's alive."

"So..." Dorr sighs. "Neil betrayed me!" Lloyd ignores this.

"What's wrong with your wife? Has she been taken hostage or something?" Lloyd asks.

"Hostage?... Don't make me laugh." Dorr turns to a covered wall. "If you want to see my wife..." he walks to it slowly. Piers shudders slightly. Daichi tenses slightly.

"She's right here!" Dorr yanks the curtain down, showing a small cell room with a large, mutilated humanoid figure in it. Kratos immediately goes as pale as Aurian, who makes a shriek like noise and hides behind a crate, holding her head.

"Ahhh!" Genis shouts, backing up. "Wh.. what's that monster?"

"She's crying... she's crying out in pain..." Colette whispers. "You mustn't call her a monster!"

"Demon Seed...Exsphere." Daichi blinks. "They did this with an Exsphere."

"You don't mean..." Lloyd whispers.

"That's right." Dorr doesn't even look at the creature in the cell with its rather well made clothes. "That is what's become of my wife, Clara!"

"So that's why you told everyone she passed away." Raine says.

"My father, the previous governor-General, was a fool. Because of his defiant stance against the Desians, they killed him, then planted the demon seed in my wife as a warning. If I cooperate with them, they will give me the medicine to save her."

"But..." Genis is frowning. "That means you're betraying the people in this city!"

"What do I care?" Dorr snaps. "We'll never escape the rule of the Desians anyway."

"Colette will.." Lloyd grits his teeth, then snaps at Dorr back. "The Chosen will save the world!"

"The chosen's journey of world regeneration is not absolute." Dorr retorts. "Don't forget the last one ended in failure! Besides. The people of this city are satisfied with my way. They just don't know I'm working for the Desians."

"Shut up!" Lloyd shouts, glaring at Dorr. "What do you mean, your 'way'?! I'm sorry about your wife. But think of all those people who believed in you, only to be sent off to the ranch! Any of them may have wound up just like your wife!"

"Silence boy!" Dorr snarls. "Stop acting like your justice is absolute!"

"Where do you get off? Don't even start spewing the word, 'justice'! I hate that word. If you wanted to save your wife, you should have resigned your position as Governor-General and searched for a cure, or help, or whatever!" Lloyd is furious. Everyone else is startled by his rage. "You're a worthless jerk who couldn't give up his social status even for his own wife!"

"Lloyd. Calm down." Piers comments.

Colette agrees. "Lloyd, please stop! Not everyone's strong enough to stand up against the Desians!" She clings to his arm. "Please, stop this!" Lloyd blinks, once, twice, then looks at her.

"Colette... " Lloyd visibly calms. Colette, pleased with this, turns to Dorr.

"What if we go and get the medicine you mentioned? Then you wouldn't have to side with the Desians anymore."

"You... forgive me for what I've done?" Dorr sounds a little shocked. He should. Lloyd was ready to verbally take off his head.

"It's not our place to forgive you." Colette says solemnly, releasing Lloyd's arm. "That's up to the people of this city." Dorr flinches there. "But I know Martel will forgive you. The Goddess Martel is always within you, awaiting your own, personal regeneration."

"Within... me?" Dorr sounds a little stunned.

"Absurd!" It was Kilia who spoke. She took a step, and steel flashed. Dorr grunted, red staining his side, then falls. "The Goddess Martel would never lend her aid to an inferior human being." Her small voice was twisted, her small hand holding a bloody dagger.

Daichi growls. "That voice...She's a half elf." (1)

"What are you doing?!" Lloyd yelps.

"How could you do that to your own father?!" Genis wails.

"That's a laugh." Kilia giggles, then her form abruptly twists. She grows about a foot, her limbs stretching, and skin a dark violet. Her pigtails become curved horns, and she looks a bit more demonic than half-Elven. "I am a servant of Pronyma, leader of the Five Grand Cardinals who rule over the Desians." Aurian makes a small noise, pulling her pack over her head at the half-elf's words.

"I thought that voice sounded familiar..." Daichi mumbles.

"I was merely assigned to observe the new human cultivation technique, developed by Magnius. There's no way that a superior half-elf such as I, could have a food of a father like this!" she kicked the man in the side, but he barely moves.

"A... fool of a father...?" Colette whispers.

"Just look at him!" Kilia circles the downed man. "He didn't even notice that his own daughter was dead.... Because he was too busy chasing after medicine that doesn't exist..." she kicks him in the side again. "In order to save his monster wife! HAHAHAHAHA!"

"You...!" Lloyd snarls, drawing his blades. It's like a ripple effect, the rest of the party drawing, or readying, weapons.

"How could you!" Colette shouts, as Lloyd charges in, preparing Beast.

"Petrify!" Piers aims a grey beam at the opponent. If it hits, she should slowly start to turn to stone. Kilia dodges, and Lloyd is bright enough to dodge a spell titled like that as well, even if Friendly Fire was something that normally didn't happen when Genis casted. Kilia is gathering Mana, a dark violet ring about her feet.

"Dark Sphere!" Kratos chokes as the dark spell surrounds him. It was basically the same as Photon, but with the dark element, and nasty burns of the same dark violet sprung up on his visible skin.

"Aqua Edge!" Daichi yells out, the blades of water blasting towards the half elf. Piers reinforces with a Deluge. The spell drops Kratos, who's rather bloody now, his sword clattering to the ground beside him as his right arm remains limp. Aurian's hiding behind her crate, as Lloyd yells, angered, and slams into Kilia with Beast. She nearly goes flying, but claws keep her from colliding into the wall. Colette uses Angel Feathers, the Angel attack having 'light' type damage, and cutting into the half-elf. Piers runs to Kratos and starts to cast Ply on the mercenary. Kratos grunts, trying to get up even as the burns don't completely vanish.

"Light magic." Kratos grinds out. "Hit me with light magic. It'll heal the dark-burns." his hand won't close on the sword hilt, and he seems very irritated by this fact. Lloyd is blasted back, then caught with a dark sphere spell as well. Lloyd screams, from the pain, and drops. Raine moves to heal him as Genis gathers Mana.

Piers summons up all his current energy. "Glacier!" Orbs of ice form, hurtling towards Kilia.

"Wanna charge?" Genis shouts, catching his Kendama. Aurian's watching with this wide-eyed horror that says she knows she really should help, but she's scared out of her wits by Kilia and the Exubela. "Thunder Blade!" It fires from an angle, crashing into a corner near Kilia and sending out shockwaves that she scurried away from, hit by both spells. Her form ripples, and large rib-like bits came out. Piers begins glowing slightly, not seeming to run out of energy. Raine leaves Lloyd, who is definitely down for the count, as Kratos gives up trying to pick up his sword with his sword hand and sheathes it with the other, sitting on Aurian's crate to cast low-level spells with a very grumpy air. Kilia folds the spines about her, making a shield of sorts about her as Colette uses Angel Feathers again, and retaliates with Acid Rain. They find themselves slowing. Daichi yells, running in, switching to classic Berserker moves. Colette backs up the quick way, by means of her wings, before Kilia can switch targets to her for another dark spell. Raine casts Field Barrier, and it removes the slowed effect. Lloyd was groggily sitting up with help from Genis, who was berating his friend for being a total idiot. Piers starts barraging Kilia with Aqua, soaking Daichi in the process. This meant that Genis and Kratos were done with lightening spells, but Genis simply switches to Wind, and Kratos to Earth. There was plenty of debris inside the basement for him to use, but he shortly stopped, looking ashen under his blood and the vivid burns.

"Wind Blade!" The air turns against Kilia. Piers casts Hail, using the wind to his advantage. Kilia screams, falling in the span before the cell door by the combination of spells.

"This can't be...." Kilia croaks. "Fine... then I'll set this monster free and let it kill you!" Kilia reaches, one of her boney claws in the lock. Daichi runs up, digging his axe into Kilia's neck. Kilia gurgles, her arm falling, but the cell door opens.

"Get back!" Somewhat surprising, but it was Kratos who shouted that. He looked very pale. Daichi yanks the axe from the beast's neck, watching the Exubela.

It slowly comes out of the cell, swaying as it seemed to look over them.

"No, not again...!" Lloyd growls, as he manages to stand. "Do I have to kill another innocent victim?!" the monster was raising its claws. Colette zooms in between Daichi and the Exubela, her wings flaring bright.

"Stop!!" The monster stops, lets its arms drop to its side, and quickly shuffles out the side way the Desian had taken.

"W..Wait!" Genis shouts, probably remembering Marble.

"...is...Kilia safe..?" It was a hoarse whisper, from Dorr. Raine blinks, as the party abruptly realizes that the man isn't dead yet.

"Kilia is..." Genis starts, but Lloyd cuts him off.

"Don't worry." Lloyd says. "It seems your real daughter is fine." Raine turns Dorr over so he can breathe easier, but it sounds like he's got blood in his lungs.

"Lloyd..." Genis whispers at Lloyd's lie.

"I see." Dorr says, as Kratos starts wiping blood off. "You... your name's Lloyd?"

"Yeah.."

"Professor, Piers, please, help him!" Colette lands.

Piers closes his eyes. "Ply Well." Piers starts healing Dorr. It seems to help, then not much after that. Raine attempts as well, but her magic, only first and second level, doesn't do much for fatal wounding.

"I think a lung is punctured..." Raine whispers.

"Please... save Chocolat. The poor girl.. She was just used as a tool to lure you out.." Dorr takes something out of his pocket, and presses a card into Lloyd's hand. "The pass code... is 3341."

"Got it." Lloyd says, pocketing the card.

"And.... I know this is a selfish request, but... If you somehow find a way to save my wife, please, help her return to her human form." Dorr takes a shaky breath in, it still gurgles. "When my daughter comes back, I don't want her to be all alone."

"Okay." Lloyd says. "I promise."

"Thank you..." It was a gurgle whisper. Dorr stops moving.

"You do know there is no known cure?" Daichi points out. Lloyd looks bitter, but he reaches over and closes Dorr's eyes.

"Then we'll just have to find one." Lloyd says firmly, standing.

"... Let's get going." Kratos turns for the stairs up. Lloyd spins, eyes wide.

"Kratos! How can you just say that?!" Lloyd shouts, glaring at the bloody man.

"Settle down, Lloyd." Kratos says, not looking at anyone as Aurian finally comes out from behind the crate. Shikka emerges from...somewhere, looking at the scene. "What is it we must do now? Besides take a bath..." he mutters the last.

"...Rescue Chocolat, then defeat Magnius, the leader of this region." Raine answers, still kneeling by Dorr.

"Exactly." Kratos says.

"....Yeah, I know..." Lloyd says, knuckling his face. You're right. I'm sorry."

Shikka blinks "You done?"

"Yeah." Lloyd whispers. Two corpses, a cardkey, and a pass code. That's what they got out of it.

"Let's go, Lloyd." Genis takes his friends hand. "Let's defeat the Desians."

"... My healing arts cannot even save one single life...?" Raine whispers, like it wasn't meant to be heard.

"Professor Sage? Did you say something?" Colette asks.

"No... It's nothing..." Shikka sighs, heading back out, holding the door. Aurian darts out, rather pleased to get out of the basement, clutching her glaive. Kratos follows, leaving a trail of blood droplets. Lloyd looks startled when he notices them on the way up the stairs, but he's not really in much better shape. Sunlight didn't make any of them look any better. Piers blasts Lloyd with the soothing effect of Ply Well, attempting to heal. Daichi seems injured, but refuses healing.

Lloyd blinks at him as the wounds close. "Thanks." It doesn't do anything for the blood already out of him, however. He doesn't have any of the splotchy burns that Kratos has, however.

"I'm going back to the inn." Kratos mutters, heading off and ignoring the stares of the towns' folk. Aurian's sitting on the ground, looking like she never wants to go inside ever again. Daichi also heads into the inn, intending to replace the lost blood with booze. Kratos vanishes into the bathing rooms, and Aurian stays in the courtyard, while the others do their own various cleanups. Lloyd is taking up the mending.

Shikka notes Lloyd's slightly amateurish mending. "Here... Let me take over there." Lloyd sticks his tongue out, but lets Shikka take over. He takes a moment to finger his jacket, then leaves it in the pile of clothes to be mended. Now bored, he wanders to find Daichi.

Once he does find the man, he sits down next to him. "... hey, that apple juice?"

Daichi looks at the boy. "Well, it's MADE from apples."

"Oh?" Lloyd watches the cup. ".... Is it fizzy?"

"Does it look fizzy?"

"Dunno." Lloyd says, studying it. "Dad used to make stuff in wooden barrels that I wasn't allowed to touch."

"...Wanna try it?"

"Yeah." Lloyd says, watching it.

Daichi pushes the tankard toward the teen. "Knock yaself out, kid."

Lloyd takes it, and takes a sip. He pauses, thinking, then takes a bigger drink. ".. Pretty tasty." Daichi chuckles, getting another for himself.

Lloyd manages to finish it. He's smiling now. "... Got a kinda funny aftertaste."

"True. Alcohol does have a weird aftertaste."

Lloyd blinks, looking confused. "Its alcohol?" he sniffs it. "... oh well." he wants to get more. Daichi orders another, handing it to the teen.

"Thanks." Lloyd takes it and drinks it at a moderate speed. He blinks once he's done. "... I like flowers." he looks confused after he says that.

Daichi looks down. "Wut?" The big man is starting to feel drunk himself.

"Flowers." Lloyd repeats, smiling widely. "They're pretty. And green." he frowns after he says that. "... Flowers aren't green. They be white, or blue... or pink!" Daichi seems to realize that this might have been a bad idea. "Stars are pretty too." Lloyd says, brightening. "Tho', they only come in sparkly, not so sparkly, and many color-sparkly. Maybe a red one or two."

Daichi curses under his breath. "Okay, kid. You've had enough..."

Lloyd looks confused. "But it's tasty." he's trying to hug his tankard. It doesn't work very well. "... and sparkly." Yep, he's out of it.

Daichi stands, unsteady himself. He grabs the boy by his shoulder. "Come wi' me..."

"Do I hav to?" Lloyd whines, but he puts the tankard down and wobbly gets up. "heheh. Spinning, spinning..." he attempts to move with the spinning he feels, and nearly falls on his ass. Daichi steers the boy to the rain store out back and promptly shoves Lloyd into it. Lloyd yelps, thrashing at the cold. "Grah! wassat for?!"

"To wake ya up, kid."

"but I am awake." Lloyd protests. but then his grin gets back. "...?"

"Not in that way, kid."

"there's more than one way to be awake?" Lloyd asks, but he's still grinning.

Daichi groans. "Bad idea... Bad idea..." Lloyd simply seems happily confused, still dripping. Lloyd is momentarily distracted by Aurian climbing out of the window with a blanket to sleep on the roof. Daichi watches, frowning. He grabs Lloyd. "Gah. Whatever. Bedtime, kid..."

"Huh...?" Lloyd lets Daichi tug him along. Raine and Colette are already gone, Genis is reading the book from Piers, about half way through, and Kratos is just not anywhere to be seen. Daichi frowns, wondering what to do with the boy. Lloyd's humming to himself. Daichi steers him into his own room, sitting the boy on the bed. Lloyd looks cheerfully confused. "Huh?"

"Go to sleep, kid."

Lloyd blinks, a weird frown that was trying to be a smile. "I'm not tire...d.." he blinks at his yawn.

"Don't make me knock ya out." Lloyd makes a face, and takes off his boots, quickly discarding belts. He must have had experiences with Dirk about refusing to sleep of the same sort. Daichi removes his own weapons and boots, lying down. Lloyd curls up on his side, under blankets and all, and seems to fall asleep rather quickly. He doesn't wake up when Raine opens the door, poking her head in.

"Have either of you seen Aurian?" Raine asks.

"On the roof." Daichi mumbles. Raine frowns, but thanks him for the information and shuts their door again.

* * *

October 11th

* * *

Lloyd was woken by Aurian coming in through the window, then leaving just as quietly as she'd sneakily pried the window open. He blinks at the ceiling for a while, then gets quietly dressed. Kratos was pulling his shoes on. Daichi is on his side, awake, but recovering. The Exsphere on his neck glints in the sunlight. Lloyd frowns, thoughts ticking slowly as he watches the Exsphere.

"... People in ranches have Exspheres." Lloyd said slowly, thinking it out. "...but only the Desians have crests. People outside ranches get Exspheres and crests by taking them from Desians...." Kratos was absently watching him figure this out. "..." Lloyd looks worried. "Aurian was inside a ranch. And she's not a Desian." Daichi turns onto his back, hiding the Exsphere. "This means she doesn't have an Key Crest!" Lloyd yelps, jumping out of bed, tripping over his boots and blades. Kratos sighs as Lloyd struggles to get to his half-dressed feet and leave.

"It is only truly dangerous, beyond the bouts of sickness, if the Exsphere is removed.." Kratos says slowly.

"If it remains bound, it's safe." Daichi comments.

"But..." Lloyd pauses, hand raised to get the door when he reached it. "the sickness..."

"Isn't going to be any worse than the symptoms known as 'morning sickness'." Kratos abruptly realizes he's talking and shuts up, gathering his blade as Lloyd goes back to get properly dressed. Daichi eventually sits, fumbling for his boots under the bed.

Lloyd frowns in the act of getting his jacket over his head, Kratos already gone. "... What's morning sickness....?"

Daichi stops. "Uh...When a woman is pregnant, morning sickness is something that occurs during the, well, morning. Its...Vomiting, fever and general unwellness. Strange cravings, too."

Lloyd frowns, doing up all his buttons. "... babies, right?"

"...you don't know about pregnancy?" Daichi sounds a little unbelieving.

"Girls get it." Lloyd says, slowly. "Not guys." Since he doesn't say anything more, that seems to be the edge of his knowledge. Daichi face palms, continuing to get ready. "Right?" Lloyd asks, looking a bit worried as he too finished dressing, picking up his sack.

"Yeah, yeah. Ya right, kid." He picks up his axe.

"Ok, good." Lloyd looks relieved. Not, that he seems to know how it all works though. He merrily makes his way downstairs. Daichi shakes his head, following the boy.

Genis comes out of the kitchen with Aurian, holding bowls. "I helped her cook." Genis says. "It's pretty good." Lloyd inhales it anyway. Daichi takes his time, still feeling hung over.

"Fruity." Lloyd comments. "What's in it?" he asks around his spoon and oatmeal.

"... Small wedge fruit." Aurian mutters, eating. "milk... but thick.."

"Tangerines and cream." Genis clarifies.

"Hm. Different. Hey... Where's the 'Seer of the Seas'?" Daichi asks.

Lloyd blinks. "Yeah. He wasn't in the room...."

"Outside.." Aurian says. "looking at big pond." Genis shakes his head.

"Ocean. Or sea." he corrects her.

"And Shikka?" Daichi asks.

Aurian shrugs, finishing her food. "Dunno." she seems to feel that this is enough talking, and vanishes to take care of her dishes.

"I think he was in the kitchen earlier." Genis muses. "Maybe he grabbed something and went to eat somewhere else?"

"What's with that guy, anyway...?" Daichi mutters. Lloyd shrugs, getting his seconds as Aurian heads back upstairs. Lloyd seems to be thinking on something, by the way he splits his attention between eating and fishing around in his bag.

"What do you mean?" Genis asks slowly.

"He still seems...Depressed. Unhappy. Distant."

Lloyd squirms a little, giving up his bag search as the other two females enter and begin to eat. "Dunno." Lloyd finishes and leaves.

"We're heading back for Magnius's ranch after we finish eating." Raine says. "We don't have much time to spare..."

"Good. I can start my payback..." Daichi mutters. Steel on steel tells them what Kratos is doing, although when Lloyd pops his head back into the dining room, it's not clear who he's sparing with. Raine shakes her head, simply eating but Genis gets up and looks.

"Haa.. Aurian is pretty good with that glaive-thing." Genis says.

"I still need to practice. All the training I'm getting is monster battles." Daichi sighs.

"We'll need to squeeze it in on the mornings on the road, then." Raine sighs, running her hands through her hair. "Otherwise, our land-time will drop, unless we press further into dusk, but that means less time to set up camps... especially with the season turning..." Colette takes her and Raine's empty bowls as Genis moves upstairs to pack. Raine stands. "I'd best find Piers and Shikka." Piers is, as said, standing by the sea. A blue aura surrounding him as if he's about to cast. Lloyd manages to find him first, his pack across his shoulder. he watches for a bit, a bit leery of interrupting a mage, but also curious. Raine spots the two, and then moves to find Shikka. Shikka is on the roof, staring absently into the sky.

Piers blinks, turning around to face Lloyd. "Hey."

"Watcha doin'?" Lloyd asks. "Breakfast is served, and we're planning on leaving soon." Raine climbs up carefully.

"I was just taking some energy from the ocean. Who knows when we'll be back." Piers explains.

"Ah." Lloyd says. "Gunna eat? cause I could still eat your share."

"there you are.." Raine sighs, sitting gingerly on the edge. "do you plan on eating?"

"I've already ate." The two answer in unison.

"Ah." the other two reply. Raine pauses for a moment, studying Shikka.

"Are you feeling unwell?"

"N-No...Not really..." Shikka mumbles.

"hmmm?" Raine looks at him, then slowly gets up to sick closer to the large man. "Not really means sort of. What sort of problem?"

"Its...Nothing really. More when I transform. I can't seem... To control myself properly. That's why I haven't been fighting." Raine tilts her head, thinking back through the most prominent battles they'd been in.

"True. I don't recall seeing you fight recently..." Raine thinks for a moment longer. "... is it because of that... fit? where you.. rapidly shifted between large feline and humanoid?"

"Yes... That's what happens when a laguz is...infected. I was lucky; I was only injected with a small amount of the virus. A stupid attempt to control... And it backfired."

"Exceedingly, I could guess by the fact you are no longer with those who attempted to control you." Raine pauses, watching Shikka. "... you killed them, in that rage, didn't you?"

"Only 1. In the few seconds I was feral, I slaughtered..." He pauses, thinking. "My master's son, the only person who cared."

"...Must have been hard on you, once you regained your senses." Raine sighs. "...One question - why is it that you don't fight in the human form?"

"Power. It takes so much to transform. We don't fight in human form because it drains that power."

".... I can understand that." Raine rubs her head. "So, do you want to stay in Palmacosta while we raid the Palmacostan Desian Ranch? we are planning on leaving soon."

"I'll fight..." Shikka mutters.

"Don't push yourself. Let's go."

* * *

(1) referring to way she spoke of humans, and the insane lilt.

(2) he's in a basement, next to a pier. He's not gunna run out o magic

* * *


	18. Rough Ground

* * *

October 17th

* * *

"That Magnius is a barbarian." Genis says, while walking for the forest that hides the ranch.

"I couldn't have put it better myself." Raine agrees with her brother. "He's trying to rule everything through brute force. And the power he's using to do it isn't even his. It comes from his Exsphere."

"that bastard..." Lloyd mutters. "I'm going to make him pay." Daichi keeps silent, his hand going to his neck.

"... Even that man is a living being." Kratos turns the words 'that man' into something like an insult. "Defeating Magnius means taking a life." Aurian is looking a little twitchy as they get closer.

"So, what, we should just stand by and let him take out his retribution on the people of Palmacosta?" Lloyd asks, frowning.

"No." Kratos says, frowning at Lloyd like he forgot how stupid the boy is.

"There are ways to exact utter punishment without death." Shikka notes.

"As much as I would have fun with that," Kratos mutters, the words barely carrying. "that's not what I'm saying." that was louder, although Raine still frowns at the mercenary. "To kill your enemy means to bear the responsibility for that life." Kratos shifts, running a hand through his hair. ".. and one must never forget that..."

Lloyd blinks, and looks thoughtful. "... To bear responsibility for a life.." He mutters, watching his feet as they get closer to the forest. "Yes, you're right..." Lloyd grins, a slightly wry look to it. "Seems I get excited a little too easily." he looks back at the forest. "I'll be careful."

"Like hell you will." Daichi comments. Lloyd makes a face at him.

"But you quickly realize it and repent, so you're still fine." Raine says, giving a little bit of a glare to Kratos. Raine Does Not Approve of his bloodthirsty ways.

"And then he quickly forgets too." Genis pipes in.

"Hey!" Lloyd splutters, turning to Genis. "Don't butt in!" he bops him lightly on the head.

"Oww...." Or not so lightly. Piers smiles lightly. It's as if the boy is remembering something. They reach the forest, and all fall silent. Neil pokes his head out of the brush when he notices their arrival. Lloyd opens his mouth to say something, and Neil shakes his head.

"..No. Don't say anything." Neil says. "I can imagine what happened to Dorr from the look on your face." Lloyd grimaces.

"But Dorr did say this: He wants us to save Chocolat." Colette says.

"...Governor-General..." Neil mutters, before stepping out of the shrubbery. "I understand. Please take me along to carry out the Governor-General's last wish." Raine and Kratos look a little thoughtful, but Lloyd answers.

"All right."

"At any rate.." Raine sighs. "Let's see if we can find a place to use that key we received from Dorr." Neil has a spear, which he carries on his shoulder, as they loosely start searching. Colette tells them that ranch-activity is on the right, so they turn and go left. There's a card-slide, a keypad, and a door in the side of the ranch wall.

Daichi steps forward, taking a card from his pocket. "See if this still works...." Lloyd blinks at him, offering the card from Dorr as Daichi passes him.

"eh. Here." Lloyd glances at the rest of the party before stepping back. Aurian is too twitchy at being near a ranch to have noticed that.

"It's a two-part code. Card and PIN. What's the number?" Daichi asks.

"3341." Lloyd says, shifting with his hands in his pockets. The man swipes the card, the light blinking green.

He quickly punches in the code. "Knew it'd still work." Lloyd glances back, but Aurian has been caught up with the divvying up of Gels and Bottles.

"Be careful." Lloyd mutters, before getting his share. Kratos almost seems in a hurry to get inside; by the way he keeps glancing at the doorway while checking his pack for gels and bottles. Raine moves to check on Aurian. Daichi takes his share, Piers refusing.

"Even if you don't want to use them, you can still use them on other people." Raine tells Piers, after Aurian refuses to leave, telling the healer that she wants the other people out more than she wants to run away.

"My Ply Well is fine. It doesn't burn much power." Piers says.

"Keep a life bottle or two, at least." Raine holds the bottles out.

"If he doesn't want them, he doesn't want them." Kratos seems fine with whatever is in his pack, turning toward the ranch. "Let's get moving." They head into the ranch, Neil tagging along. Kratos took up the lead, just cutting through Desians without more than a glance to make sure they were Desians, looking around. Lloyd spots the strange cauldron-altar that cloned the sorcerers ring in the past, and darts past Kratos to inspect it.

"..." Lloyd pulls out the loop with the lightening and fire rings on it.

Piers appears behind Lloyd. "What's this?"

"Sorcerer's Rings. From the Martel Temple." Lloyd says, pulling off the original. "In that weird Desian base, I copied it on a machine like this. The new one shot lightening... so.." Lloyd puts the red faced one on the altar. The machine whirs, and flashes, and then there was a green-faced ring on the machine as well. "It'll give us a new one." Lloyd picks up the two rings, putting the old one on the loop before putting the new one on. Kratos returns, absently cleaning his blade, as Lloyd activates the ring. The whole room seems to be green-tinged, and the raised circle of metal on the floor in the center of the far wall hummed and turned on. Daichi yawns, clutching his arm.

"... It looks like ... everything changed somehow.." Lloyd blinks about as the green tinge sticks around. Raine is blinking.

"It's ... something like a radar." she says, looking at the surroundings.

"Ray... dar?" Lloyd asks.

"Scanner. Sensor." Piers offers. "Item finder? Dowsing machine?"

Lloyd blinks his confusion, and Raine sighs.

"you can see things you couldn't before."

"..Oh." Lloyd mutters. Kratos is heading for the circle on the floor.

"Teleporter." He says, stepping on and vanishing.

"Raine. Can I have the Mercury Star back?" Piers asks. Lloyd and Colette step on and vanish as well.

"Hm? Now?" Raine asks, pulling her sack closer to her hands as she props her staff against her shoulder, Neil vanishing next.

"Yeah. I have a feeling. I might need it." Piers says.

"alright." Raine fishes the sack out of her pack, and passes it to him, stepping on the warp, Genis behind her. Daichi, Shikka and then Piers follow suit. Aurian warps after them, wide eyed. Genis spots something beyond their area.

"It's the captives..." Genis mutters. Kratos is already ahead of them, cutting down the Desian guards.

"Please, let's save them!" Colette says, following Kratos as he looks for more Desians to take care of.

"Yes, when you consider what will happen, we can't just leave them here like this." Raine says, moving to the door.

"Lemme try to hack the cages." Daichi says, stepping before the console. Raine nods, as Lloyd shifts.

"Shall we split into two groups then?" Lloyd asks, looking in.

"No, please leave this to me." Neil moves closer to the door. "Members of the Palmacostan army will be coming in soon. I'll remain here, join up with them, and bring these people out of the ranch. Please, take care of Chocolat."

Daichi laughs. "Hah! The command codes are still active."

"Ok. We'll leave it to you then." Kratos returns, flicking his blade clean, as the door opens. Neil herds the prisoners out, and a small boy stops by Lloyd. "Hmm? What's wrong?" Lloyd crouches to the boy's level. "You're not going to run away?"

"Thankya for saving me." the boy says, to the party, before shoving his hands at Lloyd. "here."

Daichi grunts. "I've hacked the security system."

"So we've got extra time before the Desians notice us." Raine says.

"What's this?" Lloyd asks, turning over his newly acquired object.

"I picked it up over there." the boy points at one of the dead Desians. "I saw him treating that card as if it was really important." Lloyd looks at it. It's blue.

"thanks."

"Heehee." the kid rejoins the other prisoners.

Daichi glances at the card. "That IS important."

"there is a locking mechanism ahead." Kratos tells them, cleaning his face of blood. "It has three colored slots for cards. No key pads. It's still locked." Kratos hands Lloyd a purple card. "... and I found that."

Lloyd takes the card a little gingerly, wiping some blood off it with his pants. "So, we're missing one."

"What do we do?"

"The hall continued." Kratos turns and continues walking. With a blink or two, the others follow him. It's a bit more confusing, the larger room. Lloyd and Genis are having a soft, short, grim conversation. And the only entrance was theirs. It was noticeable that Kratos had been in there before them, due to the Desian corpses and blood splattered about. Colette spots something high up.

"Something sparkled."

"... It's too high up to see." Lloyd says, frowning up. Colette smiles.

"Wait here, I'll check it out." her wings poof out, and she flies up. "Let's see... it was around here..." Colette returns with a small red card. "got the last one!" they return to the place with the three card readers. Lloyd goes and swipes the cards. the door opens, and shows a teleporter. it's a leveled maze, they find out, inside. Lloyd activated the Radar-Ring, and the teleports light up with different colors.

"erm..." Green, blue, red, and the gold they had just come out of. It takes them an hour or so to finally reach a floor that had something other than a random Desian on it.

"Lloyd! Look!" Genis points to another part of the cat-walk maze, on the same level as them. Chocolat, looking a bit more pale and grimy than she had when they'd seen her last, is cornered by a small squad of Desians. Piers casts Ice Blow, launching a surprise attack. He seems to be stronger.

"Stop!" Lloyd is right on the tail of the spell. "Let her go!" Kratos is behind Lloyd, his blade not having been sheathed since they entered the ranch. the surprised whip-wielders fall easily.

"You came to rescue me?" Chocolat asks, as Lloyd cleans his blades.

"Yup!" Colette cheers, before peering anxiously at the other teen. "Did they hurt you? Are you ok?"

Piers looks behind him to see Daichi running up, blood drenched. "I got a map."

"And how much of that is yours?" Raine asks of Daichi.

"Yes, I'm fine, Chosen one, everybody, thank you all so much!" Chocolat says.

"Ah, don't mention it.." Lloyd says, rubbing his head.

"There is no time to be celebrating." Kratos says, looking at the teleporter in this room. "We still need to.. take care of Magnius..." there was a brief pause as everyone realized what Kratos was heavily implying.

"Hey. I'm hurt... They hurt my feelings." Aurian seems to realize where they are, by the way she starts and clutches her glaive. Raine gives a slight roll of her eyes.

"Assistant Governor-General Neil is taking the people imprisoned here to safety." Raine tells Chocolat. "Our job is to secure the control room and assure a safe escape." Chocolat blinks, and smiles.

"Dorr finally mobilized his plans, didn't he?"

"... yeah." Lloyd says.

"The alarms are temporarily disabled, but I didn't have enough time to throw up a more complicated encryption." Daichi says.

"Wow. Who are you, and what have you done with Daichi?" Piers asks.

"Shut up." Daichi mutters.

"I'm not sure if it's the control room or not..but in the back is a platform that leads to a room filled with sparkling lights and other magical looking things. I'll show you the way!" Chocolat says.

"Hmm.. It may be a bit dangerous, but we'd appreciate your help." Raine sighs, probably because sending someone to Neil with her would cut their fighting force down.

"Of course! this way!~"

"So. How many did ya kill?" Piers asks.

"12." Daichi replies. Chocolat leads them to a teleporter, and Lloyd activates it via ring, then takes it. The party warps into place as Lloyd takes a few steps into a large consol filled room.

"So, this is the control room..." Lloyd mutters, eyes bright at the technology.

"So the forsaken Chosen and her entourage of vermin have finally arrived!" Magnius's voice.

"For...saken..?" Kratos looks confused.

"Evil. Wicked. Misguided. Sinister. Take your pick of alternatives." The Piersapedia says.

Daichi nods. "The Desians don't wish the world to be regenerated, remember?" Kratos still seems .. something, over the Desian's choice of words.

".. that's not it.." the man whispers, scowling.

"You got it all mixed up, Magnius!" Lloyd calls, looking for the half-elf. "You're the one that's forsaken. Your time here is up." Magnius comes out of the center of the ceiling in a ... floating couch. Quite a few Desians show up at the room, surrounding the party without getting in blade-reach. Out of blade-reach, but not magic. Piers draws his staff, getting ready to cast. Kratos looks like he's debating if he should just jump into the midst of them.

"We're surrounded!" Colette says, looking downcast.

"Hahahaha!" Magnius is protected by some sort of shielding. "Just like a bunch of stupid vermin! I know your every move! And I know about those inferior beings trying to escape too." A sudden image blooms in the air above them, showing Neil and the others escapees.

"Know our every move, eh? Hah. Its hard to predict what you don't know, Magnet." Piers says, smirking.

"How did Neil get here?" Colette asks, clueless, as Magnius fumes and Lloyd grins.

"That's a projector." Kratos gives the image a glance. "A product of Magitechnology."

"It's a device that displays images of people and things far away." Raine explains. "We were likely displayed on such a device as well."

Piers smiles. "I need you all to cover me..." Aurian takes a step closer to Piers, holding her glaive properly as Lloyd takes a half step to try to hide Piers from view. the image in the air shows doors shutting about Neil's group.

"Oh no, they're trapped!" Genis wails.

"Hahaha! A wasted effort!" Magnius laughs at them. "Everything you've done is meaningless!"

"How so?!" Lloyd shouts back. "We can rescue everyone after we take care of you!" Piers closes his eyes, pounding the staff to the ground. He starts casting, making it as fast as he can. The tip of the staff flares with magical energy.

"Big words from someone whose futile actions caused the disaster at Iselia!" Magnius retorts. Lloyd jerks in surprise, his eyes going wide.

"th....that was..." Lloyd mutters.

"I know!" Magnius says, an evil grin forming. "How about I recreate that incident using the vermin on the projector?" Lloyd flinches, eyes wide and face horrified. "Watch. I'll unleash their Exspheres and turn them into monsters!" Kratos looks a little ashen at this, his crimson eyes dark and pained.

"Prisma!" Piers yells, orbs of elemental magic being created, striking down Desians and assaulting Magnius' shields. Magnius's shields stay strong as he presses a button on his couch, the Desians fall however, but some more move in.

"No!" Lloyd shouts his voice cracking. "Stop!" Magnius, while furious over his Desians, is more intent on baiting Lloyd.

"Come on now." Magnius says. "I'll be more than happy to turn them into monsters.. just like that old lady you killed." Lloyd freezes. "Just like Marble! Hahaha!"

Daichi growls. "Aqua Edge!" He slices open a few Desians.

"what...?" Chocolat asks, her eyes wide. "Marble? You don't mean..."

"Oh, but I do, my little Chocolat." Magnius sneers. "Dear old granny Marble was sent to the Iselia Ranch, where she was killed by Lloyd. I heard she met a pitiful end!" Genis turns to Chocolat.

"Wait, it wasn't like that!" Genis says. "Lloyd tried to save her! But the Desians turned her into a monster-"

"And Lloyd killed her." Magnius finished for Genis, grinning malevolently.

"No..." Chocolat is horrified that she's been rescued by the teen who killed her grandmother. Magnius cackles and his eyes flit over the group, settling on Aurian, who flinches.

"They've even got that miserable creature that killed your father with them." Aurian jolts, eyes wide, as Chocolat turns to her, before Magnius continues. "That one destroyed the High Mountain ranch! Your father was shipped to High mountain, and less than a month ago, that inferior creature killed the lot of them!" Aurian looks very confused.

"You're lying!" Genis shouts. "Aurian was heavily wounded! And she can't use her magic, there's no way she could have killed all those people!"

"But does she remember the attack? If she can't, she did it!" Aurian's shaking her head.

"The root cause is the Desians." Shikka states, always calm collected. "If they hadn't shifted the humans to the ranches..."

"No..." Chocolat is hung up on the fact that people she knew had died by party hands. She backs up into Desian hands. Colette notices, as Magnius takes this time to laugh at them.

"Chocolat!"

"Dammit!" Colette causes Lloyd to notice. "Let her go!"

"Leave me alone!" Chocolat snaps. "I refuse to be saved by murderers! I'd rather die!"

"You mustn't say things like that!" Colette cries.

"..Dorr will save me!" Chocolat yells. "Leave me alone!" Magnius laughs at this.

"Right, Dorr, huh. Well, whatever." A teleporter runs on the floor. "Take her away!" As the Desians take Chocolat away, a card falls to the floor. Lloyd snags it, as the party spreads into the now vacated room. Magnius finally notices that that was the last of his grunt force, and snarls. His floating couch loses its shielding, and moves down and to the side.

"Damn Idiots!" He snarls, before standing. "Fine, I'll take care of you myself!" He has a large shield, rather beetle shaped, and an axe to rival Daichi's. "I'll put an end to the Chosen, right along with you fools who can't let go of your Elven blood, and the other inferior beings!" Daichi, ready, flings himself at Magnius, his axe going towards the neck. Magnius's shield goes up, and his axe swings in an uppercut, the earth rumbling with it as he performs a skill like Demon Fang, but instead of non-elemental energy, it was a blast of rocks. Lloyd and Kratos move in, with Colette staying back by Raine, Genis, and Aurian.

"Deluge!" Piers starts blasting the rocks, he then turns back and mumbles a spell. A magical wall flickers around the four. "Stay behind the wall when you can. It'll shield you from too much damage as long as the rest are fighting."

Raine and Genis nod, while Aurian moves in front of them, her glaive ready, and Colette wavers off to one side.

"Hell hound!" It was another upper cutting skill, the ax wielding cardinal swinging his weapon up, and a flaming maw cut through the ground. Kratos and Lloyd split away from the attack.

Piers and Daichi react. "Deluge!"

"Aqua Edge!"

"Drown!" Genis shouts, blue swirling about him as he twirls his Kendama, Lloyd and Kratos moving to flank Magnius and continue the attack. Magnius's armor seems to be at a higher level than expected, due to the lack of damage from the blades. "Spread!" Rather like Deluge, a torrent of water falls on Magnius.

"Grr... Shine Plasma!" Piers yells. Numerous bolts of lightning strike Magnius. Magnius staggers back, sparks arcing off him, his dreadlocks rising into further spikes from his ponytail. he looks for a supposedly easier target, spotting the mages, and their shield, and Shikka.

"What's the matter, inferior being? can't fight?" Magnius leers.

"I do not wish to dirty my hands with your foul-smelling blood, half-breed." Shikka retorts. Lloyd grins, Kratos smirks for half a second as they move behind Magnius, hearing this, the large half elf spluttering, before turning to slam his axe in the ground before Lloyd, rocks flying to send the twin blade flying. Kratos finds himself on the defense, and not liking it.

"Wit can be sharper than the blade." Shikka comments. Piers blasts at the rocks, beginning to tire from using Shine Plasma. Kratos slams his shield into Magnius, a scowl firm on his face as he twists, blade cutting up with a ethereal form of a wolf's head knocking Magnius back a few steps. Kratos moves back as Raine casts First Aid on Lloyd, then Kratos, Genis gathering Mana that glowed a clear green. Daichi goes all berserker, rushing forward and pounding at Magnius' defenses. Head on. Piers spends a few minutes to crush a Psy Crystal, regaining his strength. it becomes clear that the only sort of magic Magnius can use is the elemental-enhanced-techs with his weapon.

"Hell hound!" the fiery rock spray is aimed at Daichi, while Genis finishes his casting.

"Air Thrust!" the air hardens in strips that slice at Magnius, but move through party members with only a little breeze.

"Supercool!" Piers' blasts of ice knocking the rocks from Daichi. Magnius snarls, and sends another of the attack at Shikka. Lloyd's back on his feet, although he looks a little dizzy, and Colette looks worried, but her Chakrams are easily deflected by the Cardinal's shield. Shikka yelps, ducking and rolling to dodge the attack, growling lowly. Magnius smirks, avoiding a Lightening from Kratos, and heads after Shikka again. Shikka keeps dodging the attacks, eventually getting hacked off.

"Right. Fuck this!" He gives a loud roar, shifting. Raine shakes her head at Shikka's language, which makes Lloyd automatically store it as something to say when pissed off. Magnius looks startled at the fact that the human he had been attacking was now a large feline. Shikka growls lowly, pouncing at Magnius, roaring loudly. Lloyd and Genis watch, with wide awed eyes, as Magnius drops his axe, and turns to run. Kratos looks like he's debating tripping the cardinal, before he watches Shikka with curiosity. Colette stops hovering. Shikka catches up, pouncing the Desian, placing a paw on his neck, digging the claws of his other paw into the man's chest.

"How?!" Even Magnius knew he was a gonner. "How could a superior half-elf like me...?!"

"It is because you are a fool, Magnius." Kratos says, watching dully. "The Cruxis has accepted Colette as the Chosen."

"... what?" Magnius asks. he sounds genuinely startled.

"That's right! Colette is going to Regenerate the World!" Lloyd shouts. "We're not going to lose to someone like you!"

Shikka growls lowly. "Provoke an animal long enough, it'll bite back..." Magnius flicks his eyes about the group, before he looks back at Kratos.

"So... You're.... Then..." Magnius manages to sound angry with what little breath he has left. "I was deceived..." Shikka claws the man's throat out, growling lowly. Raine looks at this, then moves over to the computer. she works it after a second, and the projector runs again.

"Lloyd!" Genis points. Chocolat is being escorted out of the ranch by a pair of Desians. Raine continues using the machine.

"this should allow the people imprisoned in the ranch to escape." Raine says. Shikka doesn't change back, licking the blood from his paw. Piers is a bit worn out and Daichi is panting heavily.

"...What about the Exspheres implanted in them." Somehow, the way Kratos said this was different than 'equipped'. "Without key crests..." Lloyd blinks, turning to glare at him.

"I thought you said it was fine!"

"If they are equipped. Implanted is a different matter. It is only a matter of time before they go out of control." Kratos looks empty as he says this.

Shikka stands up. "So. What do we do?" Raine blinks, but continues at her techy work.

"Can't we just take the Exspheres off of them?" Genis asks.

"It is extremely dangerous to attempt to remove an Exsphere lacking a key crest." Kratos's voice is low. "I would imagine only a dwarf could handle it."

"Then let's ask Dirk." Colette says.

"Isn't Dirk all the way in Iselia?" Piers comments.

"We can work out the details later. Palmacosta is a port town, and Iselia is near the ocean of the other continent." Raine finishes typing something. "I programmed this place to self destruct. Ready?" Daichi quickly does something on the console. Shikka reverts to human form, coated in blood, his hands especially. Lloyd, Colette, Genis and Aurian appear startled, as Kratos gives a small nod and a tiny smile.

"Are you serious?!" Lloyd asks. He does seem a tiny bit thrilled however.

"Raine, if you do that-" Genis starts.

"At the very least, we'll deal a major blow to the Desian stranglehold over this region. if we're going to strike them, it should be thorough and decisive." Raine says.

"Plus, the explosion'll be MASSIVE." Daichi comments. This does make Lloyd grin. Genis still seems iffy.

"Raine..."

"Remember, Genis. we're not like them. We're different." Raine mutters to her brother, before reaching over and pushing a sequence of keys. "I've set the self-destruct timer to half an hour, and locked it. Let's hurry and evacuate."

Daichi smirks. "We'd better get going. Now." Lloyd blinks, then jumps the remains of Magnius, and darts for the teleporter. Aurian is shortly behind him, with Colette and Genis not too far behind. Kratos takes a more casual stride for following, as Raine hurries as well. Piers and Shikka are close to Colette and Genis, with Daichi lagging along in last place. Once outside, Neil joins up with Lloyd, while the teen continues running.

"What happened to the captives?" Lloyd yells, passing the man.

"We've moved them all to Palmacosta. The army brought wagons." Neil seems a little confused as to why the lot of them are running.

"Then, Neil, please get out of here too! Hurry!" Genis yells.

"What?" Neil asks as more pass him.

"The place is gonna explode! We need to get somewhere safe." Daichi doesn't add that he wants to watch. Neil blinks, and then starts racing along with them. They get out of immediate blast zone, out through the small forest, toward the foothills of the adjacent mountain range, when a rumble sounds from behind them. Noishe whines, and overtakes Lloyd. Daichi, somehow, gets there first, watching. The rest of them stop and turn to watch the Palmacostan Desian ranch go up in flames, booms, and crumbling walls. Not too much of the surrounding forest catches on fire. Lloyd sits heavily, watching with a tired grin.

"I thought I was gunna die." he says cheerfully.

"I'm glad that everyone's all right." Colette says, but remains standing. Both Sages seem a little out of breath.

"ah..." Neil is also out of breath. "What about Chocolat?"

"I think she was taken to another ranch." Raine says.

"Most likely. I have some good news, too. I made sure my passcode can never be erased. We have free access to any Desian base... However..." He trails off. Aurian seems confused, but she also isn't about to just ask, her eyes flicking from party member to party member.

"I see." Neil says.

"If she's all right, she can still be rescued." Kratos has a very simple view on this fact, his attention on the smoking remains of the ranch. Neil seems to cheer up with this.

"Yes. If you can learn Chocolat's location, please let us know immediately. Even Dorr really wanted to save her." Neil says.

"Right." Lloyd's grin is bright once more."I swear we'll find her."

Piers seems to have regained his voice. "After we persuade her to trust us again."

Lloyd flinches. Genis remembers something.

"Also, the captives have something called an Exsphere embedded in them." Genis says. Lloyd blinks, and continues this.

"It's to dangerous to leave them as they are now." Something the teen meant to get answers about. "You need to send a letter in my name to a dwarf named Dirk, who lives near Iselia. I'm sure he'll help you get them removed."

"Dirk, in Iselia." Neil confirms. "I understand. Then, I shall go back to the city. Please stop by Palmacosta and visit us again anytime." Neil leaves.

Daichi sighs, yawning. "Man. I'm tired." it was evening. Kratos blinks his attention for the destruction and looks about where they are.

"Let's move back for the other side of the mountain range." he pulls a bottle out of his sack and smashes it, an aura surrounding them. "Monsters will avoid us." Lloyd groans, but stands.

".... Hmmm... Magnius..." Lloyd seems to be muttering his thoughts out loud as they move for the old campsite. Shikka seems drained. It seems transforming out of rage tires the laguz out further than normal.

"what is it, Lloyd?" Colette catches up with her friend.

"Those last things he said were kind of strange." Lloyd says. Kratos glances back and down.

"You mean, about being deceived?" Kratos asks, his attention sliding off party members back to the field.

"I wonder what he was deceived by." Colette asks after a few seconds of thought.

"Grand Cardinals say alot of fucked up stuff." Daichi states, almost wisely. Raine reaches over and smacks him upside the head.

"there's no way to know now."

"oh, I know!" Colette brightens after a second.

"Huh? Know what?" Lloyd asks.

"Magnius thought the fake chosen group was us!" Colette says.

"Ah, I see!" Lloyd smacks his fist into a palm. "Then everything would make sense!" Raine sighs.

"No, it doesn't! If that was the case, the imposters would have been killed by now."

"That's very true. And not everyone has our fuzzy super-weapon." Piers notes, indicating Shikka.

"...I'm not a weapon."

"... just as Raine said, there is no way for us to know now." Kratos mutters, turning into the forest. "Magnius is dead. Isn't that enough?" Lloyd frowns, but shrugs.

"Yeah, I guess so. Still, I really thought we'd figured it out..." Kratos has lead them back to the campsite from the previous night.

And Shikka promptly flops on the ground. "Remind me never to lose control again..."


	19. Trial by Water

Yeah. Sorry for that.

I split all the chapters up.

Sister mentioned that a 10-12k chapter is a little intimidating. I split them all up into two now.

This may also lead to quicker updates. I dunno. We're working really far ahead cause... It's just fun.

* * *

October 21st

* * *

The party travels to a small dock on the sea. The sign on the single building, which seemed to be a House of Salvation with some small additions, proclaimed it the Thoda Island Sightseeing Boat Dock.

"Great... I hate tourists..." Daichi grumbles. Kratos seems of similar mind, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall of the house. Aurian seems to be having a little bit of trouble with the small crowds of people, but she goes down to the shore to poke at the water and small, harmless creatures in the shallow water. Lloyd goes inside with Colette and Raine.

"Hi! Welcome to the Thoda Island Sightseeing Boat Dock! This is the most convenient - well, the only way to view the Thoda Geyser." A happy young woman with the name tag of Candy says. "It will be 200 Gald for a round trip. Would you like to use the boat?" Raine shudders, Lloyd shrugs.

"Sure."

"W-what do we gain from riding a boat?" Shikka says, a slight quaver entering his confident voice.

"we actually get to the Thoda Geyser." Genis says, before heading to the dock. "It's an island..."

"... Washtub." the remarks seems rather random, especially coming from Kratos, but there were no boats tied up to the dock just...

"Washtubs...?" Lloyd echoes, looking into the water. sure enough, there were enough for the entire party, tied up to the low dock, most of them with a half inch or so of water already in the bottom, a paddle across the round.. tubs.

"..." The look on Shikka's face expresses his horror. Piers steps forward, closing his eyes, glowing as he extracts the water into a large orb before letting it rejoin the lake.

"Yep, it's a washtub." Genis nudges one.

"Wow!" Colette cheers. "This looks like it'll be fun!" the rest of the party has gathered on the dock, Raine looking as hesitant as Shikka.

"I... I'm going to wait here." Raine says. "Go on ahead without me."

"Fun? You expect one of those tubs to carry me?" Daichi states. He affects a camp accent. "You must be joking, darling."

"what's wrong, Professor Sage?" Lloyd asks, as Aurian puts her feet in one, standing gingerly in the tub. Kratos has given Daichi an interesting look for that last line, before he moves to make sure Aurian doesn't fall into the sea with her packs.

"n... nothing." Raine says. "I'm not getting in that thing." her voice has a faint panicked edge.

"M-Me neither..." Shikka states.

"It looks like fun!" Colette repeats. "Come on, let's get in!" She moves for Shikka, as Genis grabs Raine's hand.

"Yeah, Raine!" Genis cheers.

"....Ahhhh!" the healer shrieks. This causes everyone else to freeze, and look at the healer.

"...ahhh?" Lloyd repeats. "... Professor Sage... are you... afraid of water of something?"

"N-Not afraid of water. Afraid of drowning..." Shikka mutters.

"I.... I was just starting to say 'Ahh, this should be fun'!" Raine gets into one of the dryer washtubs gingerly.

"... umm.. .sure." Lloyd says. Kratos makes a soft snort light laugh noise, as Aurian sits, and he moves to find his own washtub. "It'll be fine, Shikka. Colette, Genis and I know how to swim, and Colette's got wings, just in case." Lloyd himself wasn't sure if Kratos could swim, or Aurian, or Raine, from the healer's reaction to the water.

"And, in case you hadn't noticed I CONTROL WATER." Piers states.

Lloyd nods, getting into a tub of his own. "So, you're safe." Kratos doesn't seem inclined to comment, nor Aurian, who was apparently having a blast with the water in her tub, as well as the water outside it. Raine was looking greener and greener as she watched the taller woman. Shikka seems to be of a similar opinion, hanging back.

"See? it's safe." Colette and Aurian have doubled up in one of the tubs, as Genis joined Raine. Raine was looking to have second thoughts as the tub rocked a little when Genis boarded, but the small mage kept between his sister and the dock. Shikka was eventually coaxed into a tub by Piers and Daichi, The two bigger men needing a tub each. Lloyd ends up joining Kratos in the washtub, something that the mercenary seemed torn about, since Lloyd was excited and jittery because of it. They set out. Shikka is too scared to start paddling. Piers eventually gets the water to move him along in small waves. After Lloyd nearly capsizes their tub, Kratos reaches over and dunks the teens head into the sea for half a minute, before letting him up. Lloyd was carefully less violently enthusiastic after this, but he's still visibly excited. Aurian seemed to be doing fine with the klutzy chosen. it might have been a bad idea to let the two mages share a tub however, as they lagged a bit. Daichi seems unamused by the entire thing, looking kind of ridiculous in the tub. They finally make it to a small island. Docking, Raine clamps onto the sturdy planks without bothering to get out of the tub just yet.

"we've... finally... arrived..." she mutters.

"That was fun, wasn't it, Lloyd?" Colette asks, bouncing out of the tub she had shared with Aurian.

"Sea water came in, and I thought it was going to sink!" Genis's enthusiasm doesn't fit his words as gets out. Shikka and Daichi have difficulty getting out of the small tubs without help.

Once they're all on the shore, Piers dries them as before. "We all ready?" Raine is ignoring the water and the tubs behind her, as Kratos eyes the well used path further up the island. It feels a bit more humid here, which Lloyd comments about, although he used sticky as the descriptor.

It takes them the better part of the morning to get up to the level where they can see the Geyser, rather than just hear it. There's only a handful of tourists here as well, although a traveling merchant has set up stall for Gels and Bottles, as well as little souvenirs.

"Wow!" it's a rather frequently erupting geyser, as it erupts as Lloyd runs close, showering them with mist. Piers sighs, the sight seeming to both relax and depress him.

"Lloyd, a geyser is a type of hot spring that periodically erupts with boiling water and water vapor." Genis explains for Lloyd.

"Yeah... I knew that." Lloyd replies.

"Hmm.." Colette seems fascinated by a sign further up.

"What is it, chosen?" Kratos notices.

"That sign.. over on that lookout platform.."

"... what about the sign?" Kratos is carefully patient.

"It looks kind of familiar...." Colette stares at it for a little while. "Maybe it's just my imagination." There's an opening in the stick and rope fence about the geyser, and Lloyd approaches it, peering in.

"there! there's the Spiritua Statue we need for that Hakonesia guy!" Lloyd indicates the other side of the geyser.

"All I have to do is stop it with my magic?" Genis asks, twirling his Kendama. a bit of icy blue sparks from him. Lloyd nods, taking off his jacket and gloves.

"Yeah. While it's stopped, I'll go down there along the rocky parts and get the statue." Raine and Kratos seem mildly worried about this, but Aurian seems to be a little more interested in finding the clouds that keep drizzling on her.

"Surely, it would be better if Piers did it?" Shikka comments, regaining his calm indifference. "Lloyd is the fastest of the lot of us." Raine says, rubbing her head. "At least, he's the smallest and fastest. If any steam gets loose, he has the highest chance of avoiding it."

"For stopping the Geyser, I mean." Shikka clarifies.

"... oh." Genis looks at Piers. "I was going to use icicle to freeze the geyser over, but that'd only work for a little bit."

"I can work a barrier over it, or force the water to stay put." Piers offers.

"Whichever you can hold better. I can call directions to Lloyd while you focus." Genis says, moving to the rail while Lloyd stands ready at the gap.

"Lloyd, be careful. Don't do anything dangerous." Colette ignores the fact this was dangerous to begin with.

"Even my healing arts have their limits." Raine says.

"You have a bad habit of getting cocky. Be careful." Lloyd pretends not to hear Kratos. Piers takes up position, the Psynergy aura forming. A blue glow surrounds the hole the geyser shoots up from, the ground rumbles and the geyser is held back. Lloyd jumps down into geyser's pool, landing on a rock.

"Up!" Genis shouts, and Lloyd jumps the correct direction. Lloyd makes two other jumps, before his boots slip on a rock. Piers manages to maintain the barrier, but the strain begins to show. Lloyd yelps, but manages to keep his footing. he nearly makes it to the ledge with the statue before he slips again, and the pin wheeling of his arms doesn't help this time. Piers is distracted, letting the barrier slip and the water erupt.

"...No!" Kratos shouts and he leaps from the edge as well. He's quick since he's not being careful, and manages to throw Guardian up about him and Lloyd before the water hits them, before bringing the shaken twin-blade back up with him. a bit of his cape is steaming with the water, but other than that, the two blades men are untouched.

"... thanks." Lloyd says.

Piers has fallen to his knees, panting. "S-Sorry." Raine quickly checks over Lloyd.

"It looks like... you're not hurt." Kratos rubs his forehead, covering half his expression easily.

"You were lucky." His voice is sharp, and not as disinterested. almost with a worried edge. "If I'd been one second late, I might not have made it in time."

"It's alright, Piers. You didn't expect Lloyd to slip so much. It made the situation more stressful." Raine says.

Piers stands, walks over to Lloyd and clips him across the back of the head. "Idiot." Lloyd makes a startled noise, then hangs his head.

"Dammit, that was embarrassing." Lloyd mutters. "I almost had it too..."

"Although it made Kratos look cool." Genis remarks. Kratos is ignoring the world at this point.

"I'm just glad you're safe." Colette says.

"So. What are we going to do now?" Piers states, glowering at Lloyd but seeming tired.

"We need the statue to see the book, to find out the seal locations." Raine says, standing, before she notices the statue is gone. "... Did you knock it in the geyser...?" She asks Lloyd. Lloyd blinks, looking across the pool and its spouting water.

"no..." Kratos blinks back to paying attention, and pulls something out of his pocket, handing it to Raine before walking off. the statue. Piers starts to glow, his body starting to glow as it absorbs the ambient alchemy from the geyser.

".. when did you get this?" Raine asks. Kratos glances at her, before looking at the lookout point once more.

"... I lived with a thief for some time. I picked a little skill." he mutters, crossing his arms. Raine sighs, and pockets it, while Genis watches Piers with curiosity. Piers seems to recover his energy within a few minutes.

"So, now we can look at the book." Lloyd says. "Let's look around here before we head back to give it to him." the rest agree, and Lloyd puts his jacket and gloves back on.

Piers yawns, trying to kink his muscles back into place. "Gaah. I'm all knotted..."

"It's nearly evening." Genis points out. "I think we'll camp here tonight, before heading back."

"Hey, isn't this a whatchamcallit stone?" Lloyd shouts, looking behind a sign-board.

"An oracle stone." Kratos corrects.

"This must be why it looked familiar!" Colette cheers after a pause.

"What's an Oracle Stone?" Shikka asks.

"You don't remember?" Genis asks, looking up. "It's a stone that unlocks the seals for the Chosens." Aurian blinks, and moves to peer at the pedestal with its hand print and crest.

"So this is the Seal of Water." Raine says.

"Aw, that sucks." Lloyd says. "we didn't even need to get the Spiritua statue."

"For this one. there are more." Raine reminds him.

"Oh." That's all Shikka states.

"Lloyd! Let's hurry on inside! Come on, Colette, Piers!" Genis grabs his male friends, tugging them up to the lookout point.

"Okay, then. I'll try putting my hand on the stone!" Colette says, following them. "Here we go!" she places her hand on the surface of the stone. Piers is pulled to the point, gacking. A flash shines on the opposite cliff face, far above the geyser's pool. rocks fall in a cavern opening, and a bridge of visible, rainbow Mana forms. Noishe sits a little further down the path to the look out.

"Right. So this seal is water, right?" Piers asks.

"Due to its location, it seems unlikely to be any other." Kratos says.

"Excellent..." Raine cackles, rubbing her hands together. "Now, let us begin the excavation at once!" She heads up the Mana bridge.

"We're not here to excavate anything..." Lloyd mutters, following her. Piers draws his staff, obviously intending to use Spirit Magic than Mercury Psynergy. They head inside the opening, which opens into an underground temple. it's cooler inside, with light ripples from pools of water farther inside.

Piers seems to glow with the energy in the temple. "This place is buzzing." the bridge vanishes after they all set foot on the stone inside. Kratos pauses, his head tilted like he was listening. Lloyd notices.

"What's wrong?" Lloyd asks.

"... It looks like that girl didn't make it inside." Kratos says.

"What girl." Lloyd seems confused, taking a quick headcount of their female party members.

"that assassin." Kratos says. "The one after the chosen."

"Is that a bad thing?" Shikka asks.

Kratos shrugs. "She didn't make it inside. she may or may not be outside when we re-emerge."

".. she followed us?!" Lloyd asks, startled.

"... the problem is that few noticed..." Kratos mutters. "Never let your guard down, ever. Assuming you want to survive." Lloyd gets angry.

"oh, yes, of course, you're perfect. You'd never screw up." Lloyd snaps.

"Even I make mistakes. I made a terrible one..." Kratos mutters.

Daichi, who is holding his head, groans. "Will you people cool it?! This place echoes like hell..."

Lloyd flinches, and Kratos remains looking somewhat downcast. Lloyd takes a breath, then asks calmly, but quite a bit puzzled, "What?"

".... nothing. I shouldn't have said that. Forgive me." Kratos moves ahead, ignoring speculative looks.

".. Forgive you? What?" Lloyd mutters to himself. "You don't make any sense sometimes." They were on a path on a far left wall, stairs descending down.

Shikka blinks. "Uh... What date is it?"

"October 21st." Aurian mutters this, holding her glaive as she looks wide eyed about the temple. "the moon is at 3rd quarter. in another week, it'll be the new moon. We've got another two weeks before frost starts hitting." The party gives Aurian puzzled looks.

"Gah. Damn. I'm set for a turn." Shikka mutters. Lloyd and Colette look confused, Kratos's attention has been snagged by an octopus monster. Raine blinks.

"you mean that... fit, you had in the woods. Tomorrow will be a month from it." Raine says.

"Tomorrow? You sure?" Shikka asks.

"Yes." Raine says, pulling out a small notebook. "I didn't know all the weather information that Aurian just supplied us with, but it was the 22nd when we split for the day and went to Hakonesia. We'll likely still be in the temple then."

"I'll be feral when we attack the seal?"

"Likely." Raine says. "This, I can guess to be a very bad thing, or something helpful. if it comes to the worst, we may leave you and one of the others outside the seal so that you may attack monsters, and they can make sure you don't get into too much trouble, carefully." Raine rubs her head. "for now, I think we should find a place to camp inside the temple."

"Y-Yeah... " Shikka seems a bit unnerved at the revelation of the date.

"There is a corner, under the stairs, which we can use for a camp." Kratos is wiping inky blood off his blade and hands as he returns. "it is dry, as well."

Piers yawns. "Good. I need a rest." Genis sets up the pot for dinner, while Lloyd and Colette explore a little, within the light of the campfire. Kratos has taken up a seat on some rubble, and he watches both the teens and the surrounding temple, his blade out still. Shikka and Daichi flop down. Daichi takes a bottle of medication from his pocket, taking some quickly, hoping no-one noticed. It didn't seem that anyone did, or that, if one had noticed, since Kratos occasionally glanced back into camp, it wasn't going to be commented on. Lloyd and Colette return, and dinner - a seafood stew Genis probably learned from Piers, is served. Daichi relaxes, putting the bottle back, but it slips from his pocket with a rattle.

"what'sat?" Lloyd asks around a mouthful, indicating Daichi with his spoon.

Daichi scrabbles to hide them. "Nothin'. Just pain killers." Raine thinks for a moment.

"the pains from before Magnius's Ranch?" she guesses. "You got painkillers for them."

"Y-Yeah. There was a shop in Palmacosta..." Daichi is bad at lying.

Kratos actually comes to his aid here. "Indeed, the apothecary in Palmacosta produces fine anesthetics and narcotics." he takes his bowl back to his seat. Daichi shoots a look of appreciation at Kratos, thanking him silently, starting to eat. The rest give leave it to that, although Raine does look speculatively at Kratos through the meal as he remains on his perch but to clean the dish and return it in one of the many pools of water about the place. Daichi does the same, spreading out his bedding to sleep. Lloyd crashes shortly after Daichi starts settling, not even bothering to take half his clothes off before wrapping himself in the blanket of his bedroll. Aurian had already claimed a corner, remembering that she wasn't supposed to stay near the mages. Colette watches water ripples, before she too pulls out her bedroll and lies down. Genis and Raine finish cleaning from dinner. Piers is still absorbing the ambient alchemy when he beds down, the glow fading when he goes to sleep. Daichi feigns sleep and Shikka just sits. Once the others have bedded down, Kratos shifts.

"don't intend to sleep?" He asks, voice barely carrying, as if he was talking to himself or the cavern he still faced.

"Not really." Shikka replies. "Do you?"

"I might in the early hours." Kratos says, taking out a whet stone and gently sharpening his blade, the rasp not enough to wake the sleeping party members.

Daichi's eyes open. "That's goin' straight to my head."

Kratos twists to look at him, and finishes the stroke he had started, before pocketing the stone. "I don't suppose you intend to sleep either."

"Pain's too much..." The man mumbles.

"I know how to knock people out with Mana, if you like." Kratos says, slowly. "And I'll do no more than offer if you wish." the wry amusement in his voice was from the drinking incident. "... although unconsciousness is not the same as true sleep..."

"Exactly. No thanks." Daichi mutters. Kratos hitches his shoulders in a shrug. It seems he's exhausted his social points for the day, and turns back to the temple.

* * *

October 22nd

* * *

Aurian was prodding the fire that morning, with Kratos searching his pack for the kettle and coffee. the Trio still slept, but Raine was reading by the firelight.

Daichi groans, awakening, holding his head. "Ghrrk... My head... I feel hung over." Kratos's expression twitches a little, but he doesn't look up from his coffee making. Raine looks at him, and then gets Aurian's attention.

"Plain oatmeal. We can use sugar if others want something with it." Lloyd wakes to the smell of coffee, and moves to get himself a mug. Daichi mumbles something, flopping back. Kratos returns to his seat as Aurian blinks, and starts making oatmeal. Lloyd is in bliss-caffeine land, cradling his cup to him, as Genis and Colette wake up.

"ynsaysommat?" Lloyd mumbles at Daichi.

"What?" The man looks up, something weird about his eyes.

"you saysommat?" Lloyd asks, after another gulp of coffee. "... looklike sommat kicked you in the face." Lloyd waves a hand before his eyes. Aurian has the pot o breakfast done, as Raine moves to look at Daichi.

"What's with all the attention." Daichi says.

"Harshly, you're one of our fighters. we need you in good condition to fight. Less harsh, I'm a healer. I heal. And even less harsh, we look after each other, in our own way." Raine gives Daichi a significant look as she shifts her hair. "Now, what hurts."

"Everything..."

"wonderful. Now, what hurts most?" Raine asks. Aurian's making bowls of oatmeal to pass out, and the teens get them. Lloyd is watching Piers, and it looks like his half asleep mind is debating how to best wake him.

Daichi grumbles. "My head..." Raine puts her hands on either side of his head and gently probes with Healing Mana. Aurian appears fascinated by this. Lloyd pulls off one of his socks, and goes to get it soaked in a puddle nearby, while Genis shakes his head in amusement. Shikka watches this with one eye open. Lloyd nearly yelps at how cold the puddle was, before he changes his mind. he stuck his head in it, then walked over to shake the excess water on Piers. Raine frowns.

"I think I can do something to soothe the pain, but it won't last."

Piers trips Lloyd up. "Don't try it."

Lloyd manages to keep his balance. "I thought you were asleep." he walks back to the pool to shake his head dryer, before returning to camp to get some food.

"Evidentially not." Piers grumble.

Daichi blinks. "Not working."

"That would be because I haven't started yet." Raine says dryly, before the minty green Mana flicks about hands in sparks. Kratos cleans his bowl and packs it back up while Colette and Aurian watch Raine. Lloyd hands a bowl to Piers and Shikka, before getting himself seconds. Shikka eats, tail swishing lightly. Piers pokes at it. Lloyd gets entranced by it too. Seems he's not really awake just yet. Raine frowns. "You're right. It isn't working."

"Told ya. I got my meds. Don't worry."

"If you insist." Raine says with a tiny frown, before she gets herself a bowl of oatmeal, and a more goopy bowl for Daichi. "Eat some." Daichi does eat some before turning away to throw up, making sure it's away from the group.

Aurian follows him with a mug of water. She offers it. "Make the bitter go away."

Daichi takes it, the first mouthful is swilled and spat out. He then downs the rest. "Thanks."

Aurian blinks at him. "Used to sick. Know how to deal with it." she shrugs, an awkward looking motion like she's not used to it just yet. The rest of camp is packing up. Daichi pops some meds, gathering his stuff up. Shikka seems more klutzy than usual. Almost without talking, the party sort of shifts, making Shikka next to Colette near the center as they finish packing. Kratos is already looking for more of the aquatic monsters to take care of. Shikka drops something, growling something in a weird language. Aurian notices, and blinks a few times. She moves it along with her foot, as Lloyd spots another altar type thing for the Sorcerers Ring, and darts for it. Shikka picks it up. It's some sort of scroll. Lloyd puts the original ring on it, and gets a ring with a pretty dark blue center. this he slips on, the original going back on its loop, and then into his pocket. Lloyd points his fist, and a ball of water shoots out, much like the fire, or the lightening, shoots out. Piers catches the orb, firing it back at Lloyd, aiming to soak the teen.

Lloyd yelps, and gets soaked. he's still grinning though. "Water came out of the sorcerers ring!"

"The Thoda Geyser is a plentiful source of water, so maybe it reacted to that." Genis says, stepping out of Lloyd's space as the teen shakes to dry off.

"Or maybe because this is the WATER seal?" Daichi remarks, voice laced with dark sarcasm. Genis rolls his eyes, but Lloyd brightens, taking this at face value.

"With this power, we can supply water even to distant areas." Raine says, thinking. "Without drawing on Piers's powers."

"... door's over here.." Kratos moves further south. Daichi still seems tetchy and irritable, Shikka seems easily distracted, clumsy and unnaturally nervous. Piers is just tired. There's some sort of puzzle involving scales, and lids that lock down due to the floor below. Rather than walking around, the group seems to think having Colette fly down would be a better choice. they complete the puzzle. the platform on the other side of the scales glows, rising to their level. a warp point shines brightly.

Daichi steps towards it. "I hate these things..." He warps. Aurian looks confused, and almost looks panicked when she warps off. Raine turns to Shikka.

"How do you feel? would you like to stay here, or fight the seal beast?"

Shikka twitches. "As long as you get outta my sight when I do go buck wild..."

"We'll do our best." Raine says, watching as the trio warps off, Kratos waiting. Shikka and Piers warp. Raine and Kratos join them shortly, Aurian looking a little more normal-relieved at the sight of the rest of them. "If Shikka starts going crazy move out of his line of sight." Raine passes on to them, and the other part of the party nods. Lloyd is looking a little annoyed with the area now, plucking at his jacket.

"It's all dark and humid." Lloyd mutters. "Let's hurry up and get out of here." Shikka tenses, sighing. Daichi draws his axe, whirling it to free it of condensation. Piers takes out his staff, smirking.

"... we must release the seal first." Kratos says, walking ahead.

"I know that." Lloyd says, as Colette approaches the altar. Deep blue flits about the air.

"I feel... Mana, welling up... It's the same as the Seal of Fire." Rather noticeably, the blue that flits about Aurian vanishes, it seems she's still stealing Mana to make up for her lack. the blue forms, and the seal hisses, and three monsters appear. they seemed to be some sort of mer-creature, one large, two small.

"Adulocia! Two Amphitra!" Raine shouts, two crystalline lens cracking and falling to the ground. "Lightening, hit them with lightening!" the Adulocia has a harp, and the Amphitras have hands made of what looked to be shark heads, teeth, eyes and all.

"Phantasm!" Specters burst from Piers' staff, exploding on contact with anything living. Kratos is casting, electricity crackling off his left hand as he holds his blade to protect his spell focus. Genis is in the back, by Raine, casting apparently the same spell by the cries of the small mage and the mutterings of the mercenary.

"Oh darkened storm cloud, loose thy blade and run mine enemy through! Thunder Blade!" the two large spells crash into the smaller monsters, but don't down them. Daichi has taken the fight to them, his irritability turning to aggressiveness. He has quite the foul mouth, too. Lloyd almost gets brained by one of the monsters for gaping at something that came out of Daichi's mouth, Kratos's bark of 'Stay focused' snapping the teen back into the battle. Raine was shaking her head, even as she finished First Aid. Kratos grunts as the Adulocia casts Spread, a large ball of water picking the mercenary up and keeping him inside as it pummeled him, before it flung him towards one of the pillars of the area.

"Ph-Phantasma!" The number of spirits increase, aiming to take out the smaller two.

"Don't push yourself." Raine says, looking to where soaked Kratos picked himself up, before at Piers. "Charge!" A bit of her non-aligned Mana flits from her to Piers. Kratos heals himself before jumping one of the Amphitra with a Lightening Blade. this one is felled, and the other looks close to toppling. the Adulocia strums its harp, knocking Lloyd back with the music. Daichi manages to fell the other smaller one. And that's when Shikka yells out, starting to shift back and forth between forms. Everyone moves back with varying degrees of speed, Kratos one of the last to move, his eyes flicking from Shikka to the Adulocia and back before he was out of the lion's sight. Shikka seems to stabilize. In beast form. He growls lowly, feral, walking towards the Seal Spirit, seeming as though he's going to pounce.

"...." Kratos is watching, but he throws his arm out to stop Lloyd from taking this as a go-ahead. "quiet. Watch. Don't think it safe until he starts talking to us again." Shikka nears the pouncing range, pouncing atop the seal beast. He starts to ravage with his claws. Shikka and the beast keep getting knocked back with the force of each attack by both. The skill levels seem to be matched closely. It seems stalemated. They watch. Kratos has tilted his head, like he's thinking and weighing different actions against each other as Raine quietly heals the party. It seems that the beast is being hindered by something. Piers is stepped away from the group, muttering under his breath. Raine frowns at him, as Kratos seems to pick an action, the brown glow about his hand hidden from the lion by his torso. Lloyd is frowning, partially because of Kratos. Aurian shifts carefully away from the man as he gathers Mana. Shikka seems to attain the upper hand, whatever Piers is doing seems to work. Kratos cancels his spell, and resumes watching. Shikka manages to topple the seal beast over, clawing out the neck, just like Magnius. He roars loudly, before acking, collapsing, reverting to human form.

".. that's a clear sign as any." Raine mutters, before hurrying over to heal him. there's that cracking sound again, the altar shifting, the visible Mana flowing into a spiral inside it. Aurian flinched as Remiel began to speak, ducking behind Kratos.

"Chosen of Regeneration... You have done well in reaching this far." the winged man himself wasn't in sight. "Now, offer your prayers at the altar."

Piers runs over to Shikka, kneeling by him. "I feel sorry for him. It looks... Painful."

"...yes." Colette hurries over to the altar as Raine heals Shikka. "Oh Goddess Martel, great protector and nurturer of the earth, grant me thy strength!" Aurian doesn't seem to do too well with the amount of Angelic Mana in the air, sitting and holding her head as Colette opens her wings and flies up. Remiel descends. Piers holds his head, the Mana conflicting with his Psynergy, just a bit. He groans lightly. Daichi is staring at a wall.

"You have done well, Chosen One, Colette. The second seal is now released." Remiel says. he seems to have changed a little since the last time they saw him. he didn't sound so grand.

"Thank you, Father." Colette says, still floating.

"....Accept this blessing from the Cruxis. I hereby grant you additional Angelic power."

"...Ah... Father...?" Colette sounds a little confused as the motes of light flow down into her Cruxis Crystal, and Remiel continues to ignore her.

"The next seal lies far north, in a place that gazed upon the end." Remiel continues. "Offer your prayers at the altar in the distant land."

"Father, have I done something to displease you?" Colette asks, a bit worried.

"...It matters not. All that is needed is for you to become an Angel. I will be waiting for you at the next seal. Colette... my daughter. Hurry and become a true Angel. Do not disappoint me..." Remiel returns to being a ball of light, and vanishes up.

"... what's up with him?" Genis asks. "He always talks like he's so important." Colette lands. Raine slaps Genis.

"Apologize."

"He IS an angel, kid. Messenger of Martel." Daichi notes.

"It's all right." Colette says, rejoining them. "Father.... Remiel really does sound like that." Lloyd cleans his blades, and sheaths them, studying Colette for a second.

"Well, Shall we get going to the next seal?" Lloyd moves to see if Shikka was able to stand. "... although, he was confusing as usual." Shikka is still passed out. Daichi, being the only one of the correct size, lifts Shikka onto his shoulders.

"Stop complaining." there's no real force in his comment, as Kratos turns for the warp to go. "...Let's get moving." He warps off. Lloyd rolls his eyes, and follows, Colette and Genis on his tail. Raine is watching Daichi and Shikka. Daichi is still able to walk, despite looking sullen about it. He warps off, followed by Piers. Raine remembers someone, and rejoins the group with Aurian. They head back outside the temple, and the bridge reforms once they step into the late evening light. Once down it, Colette collapses.

Piers runs to Colette. "What's wrong?"

"Professor Sage! Colette's sick again!" Lloyd says, crouching next to her. She's all pale, blue lipped and shaking again, and apparently not in any state to comment due to pain.

"What is this? That disease Daichi mentioned?" Piers asks, worried.

"the Angel mentioned the Trial at the first seal." Kratos says, already moving off. "I'll set up camp."

"Yes..." Raine sighs, feeling Colette's forehead. "But if this is going to happen every time she releases a seal, Colette is going to have a hard journey ahead of her. For the time being, I'm going to call the phenomenon Angel Toxicosis." Colette stirs a bit, blinking.

"Colette, are you ok?" Genis asks, worried. Aurian follows Kratos to set up camp on one of the sandier edges of the island. "Does it hurt?"

"I'm fine." Colette doesn't say that it doesn't hurt. "It'll go away soon... I'm sorry for worrying everyone." she uses Raine and Lloyd to get unsteadily to her feet.

"Okay, that's enough." Lloyd catches hold of her to steady her. "you're not allowed to apologize anymore, okay?"

"Hehehe.." Colette puts on a wan smile. "I'm sorry." Lloyd and Raine help Colette to the campsite, which had a fire going and clear space for bedrolls. After Colette sits, Lloyd digs out the bag of name-chips, and pulls one out.

"Is Shikka awake?" Lloyd asks.

"Just about." Piers states. "Give him 10 minutes."

"well, he's got dinner..." Lloyd says, looking at the chip. "unless we want to re-draw..."

"I don't wanna cook tonight." Genis says, flopping down on a not-so sandy part of their camp site. the fire was on the sand, which meant that half was as well, but the rest was on scraggly grass.

Shikka stirs, sitting up, yawning. "Ow, my head..." Raine moves over to check him with a bit of minty Mana.

"Draw bag says you have dinner duty. You wanna give it to someone?" Lloyd asks.

"Naaah. I'll be fine." Shikka says.

"It doesn't seem that you're hurt. Kratos and Genis have the cooking supplies." Raine says. Shikka gets the ingredients he needs, starting to make dinner. He somehow manages to fill the area with the delicious scent of Spaghetti Bolognaise. Except that two people don't seem to find it that delicious. Kratos has migrated upwind of the pot, looking a little ill, and Lloyd has mimicked him, looking a little more obviously sick.

"I'm not eating." Kratos says flatly.

Shikka rolls his eyes. "Suit yourself. I'm not making anything else. Eat or go hungry."

"Fine with me." Kratos says, and moves to the edge of camp, toward the main part of the island. "I'm on night watch." Lloyd looks a little pained that his meal is going away, but he doesn't seem to want to get any closer to the tomatoes either.

"You should try it, Lloyd. You can't see or taste them." Piers comments as Shikka finishes off.

"Tomatoes went in the pot. and they didn't come back out. they're there. I'll know." Lloyd says, hunching up. "My stomach always knows."

"Wuss." Daichi comments.

Lloyd makes a face at him. "they're disgusting. and I always feel like -" he cuts himself off before he says something. "I get sick. I don't eat tomatoes." Kratos gives no such comments, but he's not going near that pot either.

"Always feel liiiike...?" Piers prompts, wanting a bit further explanation.

"shit. Generally feel better after I puke." Lloyd says, before covering his head from Raine's wrath. Piers smirks. Raine does whack him upside the head, but leaves it at that. Lloyd has an apple in his pocket, and he eats that off to one side.

Shikka finishes his cooking, dishing it out, keeping the presentation. "I learnt this meal with the Crimean army."

"what.. army?" Kratos asks, slowly, his eyes half closed, but intent under that. Raine also looks puzzled.

"Crimea. It's a country on the continent I come from. You do know that laguz aren't local creatures."

"I've never heard of such a country." Raine says, as Kratos falls silent, looking back out of the camp. "Sylvarant has only three continents, that of Odin, Valhalla and Mimir. We're on Mimir. At least, we will be once we get off the island."

"That's weird... Tellius is kinda big..." Shikka frowns.

"although, the area about the Tower's base, and where it appears after it vanishes when Sylvarant is no longer prospering, is known as the Holy Ground of Kharlan." Raine says, starting in on her food. "and Tethe'Alla is the moon." she indicates said moon in the sky.

Shikka frowns. "This is weird. Are you suggesting that, by saying Tellius doesn't exist, that... I'm either mistaken, and have been for about 50 years, or from another planet?"

"I don't know." Raine sighs. "I've never heard of or seen the like of your kind before meeting you."

"Perhaps your country was bound up in the Kharlan war, the four thousand year war of four thousand years ago." Kratos mutters. "And has vanished like the Tethe'Allans." Piers is uncomfortably silent.

"Then how am I here?"

"I wouldn't know." Kratos says. "Are you really here?" there's a bit of amusement in that last question. it seems like Kratos is simply saying that to say that.

"He's real enough." Raine shoots back. Kratos shrugs silently.

"That's something to think on later. You're here, that's all there is." Lloyd says.

"Yeah. But that means the cure for my affliction isn't."

"hn." Lloyd has pulled out his bed roll and flops back on it. Noishe watches the camp from next to Kratos. "maybe there's an alternautic... aternavit... ...." Lloyd yawns, and gives up on speaking. Genis sighs.

"Alternative cure."

"Nope... Not as far as I know. Only one..." Shikka mutters.

"Boltzmann."

"... that could hold an answer." Raine says, hearing Kratos's comment. "Boltzmann was a master healer. although he's dead, his books should still be around. I believe the Tower of Mana has them, it's a library as well as a point to look at the Tower of Salvation."

"Maybe. The only thing I know that cures it is the mystical Galdrar." Shikka says.

"who knows." Kratos mutters. "Deal with it when we reach Valhalla, the tower of Mana is in the far north." Colette has eaten little, and already in her bedroll. Genis takes care of bowls, and does the same. Shikka helps Genis and follows suit. Daichi is already asleep. Raine writes for a little bit by firelight, before she too falls asleep. After a while, Colette gets back up, and moves to stare at the ocean.

Piers sits by her. "Can't sleep?"

"hehe.. Yeah." Colette says. Lloyd rolls over, and Kratos ignores them. Piers starts conducting the water into arches, patterns and orbs, showing off. Aurian peeks out of her bedroll, watching curiously. Colette giggles a little, but keeps it quiet.

Piers sighs. "We have a rather problematic group..."

"hm?" Colette looks curiously at him. "What do you mean?"

Piers points to Daichi. "Ex-Desian. Not sure about his past..." He keeps it quiet, aware Aurian is listening. "Shikka and his issues. And you."

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be problematic."

"It's not that. What if this 'trial' kills you? It's already causing you pain."

Colette looks back at the ocean. "The pain this time was no more than last. And it's already gone, I'm fine now."

"You're a wonderful person, Colette. To go through this to save the world..."

"I want to save the world. I want all of you to be able to live happily, safely." Colette says. "An evening of pain is nothing for that."

Piers smiles. "And we'll help you."

"Thanks." Colette smiles back. "I'll go to sleep in a little bit. Don't worry." Piers nods, standing to go back to bed.

"Good night..." Colette whispers, her voice trailing off.

"Night."

* * *

If you get my referencing with the naming of their continents, you get a cookie! - an E-Cookie, but a cookie all the same!


	20. Dark Ruin

* * *

October 25th

* * *

they reach the house of Salvation, the one between Palmacosta and Hakonesia Peak, in the evening. Kratos seems to be feeling uneasy all throughout dinner, which was a meat stew that Genis helped Aurian with. Daichi seems to be a bit more light-hearted, but seems to have lost his appetite. There's something strange about his eyes. Kratos finished his bowl, and seems to be counting. he doesn't seem to like what he comes up with, by the way he goes a little paler, standing abruptly to take care of his bowl.

"... It is the 25th, isn't it....?" he mutters, almost as if to himself.

"Yeah. Why?" Piers asks, eyeing the mercenary curiously. Kratos returns from the kitchen and goes through his pack, taking a bottle out, spilling a little into his palm, shoving some back in, and swallows the remainder. He appears to be counting, grimaces, and a small dark-glass bottle goes into his pack.

"... nothing..." Kratos mutters, almost slower. "... I'm going to bed." he walks off.

"... that was weird." Lloyd mutters.

"He IS weird." Piers notes.

"... very true." Lloyd finishes eating, and gets seconds. Genis helps Aurian clean up, before she goes with Raine and Colette to the girl's room.

Daichi yawns, pushing his chair out. "Well... I think I should sleep. Maybe."

"I'll be up in a little bit." Lloyd says, pulling out one of his blades. "I think I need to sharpen this one...." he sets to that, and Genis head up, book from Piers under one arm. Piers is polishing his staff and Shikka just watches the two, tail swishing. Lloyd doesn't take too long to sharpen, clean, and oil his blades, as well as feel the hilts, and make minor adjustments to those as well. Kratos was removing his boots when Genis entered the room, and by the time the mage had sat down to read, Kratos was out like a light.

Piers goes up with Lloyd. "He's asleep?! He never sleeps!" Lloyd slams the door shut with his foot, and drops his blades and pack next to his bed with a clatter. Kratos doesn't so much as twitch.

"Yep. Asleep."

Piers frowns. "Huh. Weird."

"He's not dead." Genis puts in. "there's no blood anywhere. But he might as well be for all he reacted when I poked him." Daichi stumbles into the room. How one man can get drunk in 15 minutes is beyond comprehension. Lloyd looks at him funnily.

".. can you pass out from drinking so much?" Lloyd wonders, looking at Kratos. One of the weird odd things was that the blade wasn't under his pillow, like most of the times when they slept in a House of Salvation. Lloyd starts undressing down to his pants and undershirt.

"Yes you can." Daichi mumbles.

"Would you look like that?" Genis points at Kratos. He hasn't budged yet.

"You'll know what it looks like in a few minutes." Daichi mumbles.

Genis sighs, taking off his boots and jacket as well. "Well, as long as you don't snore..."

"We all know that Daichi snores." Piers notes. Genis groans, and goes back to the book. It looks like he's half through. Lloyd lies on his back, looking at the ceiling. Daichi slips into sleep, amazingly silent. Lloyd drops off too, and then Genis puts his book away and drops off.

Near midnight, someone keeps moving. Very faint noises, like sleep muttering, almost drowned out by whoever was moving. Daichi blinks awake. It's still full dark in the room, but someone seems to be moving in their sleep, muttering half words. Daichi lights up a candle, looking around. Kratos appears to have been the one thrashing about, his blanket tangled about him. His expression is one of pain, and he seems to be struggling to breath, while the half-motions he makes seems like he's trying to get away from something. Daichi tries to wake him up. Kratos doesn't respond to this, although he looks confused now.

"Sto..." the partial word turns into small noise of pain, the man gritting his teeth to cut off more sounds of the like. Daichi grunts, giving up. Kratos screams. Its low on air, so it's weak, but it's definitely a scream. Lloyd wakes with a start, blinking at the candlelight, reaching for his blades. When he sees that it was Kratos, his expression turns to one of What The Fuck.

"This guy is doin' my nut..."(1) Daichi growls. Kratos has curled in his side, grabbing at his shirt. He's still muttering about 'stop', but he seems out of breath, and then has a coughing fit.

"um, um.." Lloyd seems to be thinking. "He took something!" Lloyd jumps on Kratos's pack, dumping it on the floor. Three sets of clothes, one in black rather than purple, four untitled books, each as thick as his fist, leather bound, two black. The dark glass bottle, a trio of daggers, a short sword, a small shield. Stained rags he used for cleaning his blade, clean rolls of bandages. Daichi takes up the bottle. Lloyd looks in a sack, finding healing items, and looked in another, and found bottles, vials of liquid, powders, roots, venoms and then starts shoving Kratos's stuff back in is pack as Kratos sounds like he's choking. The bottle is unmarked, with a half dozen small pills rolling about inside. Kratos doesn't have enough air to make a scream like noise, it comes out like a wheeze.

Daichi rattles the bottle. "Huh. Wonder what these are."

"... maybe sleeping pills?" Lloyd asks, moving to thump Kratos on the back, thinking he was choking on something actually. It doesn't make much of a change. Kratos jerks, twisting with his eyes open to stare ahead. Lloyd jumps back, thinking him awake, but whatever Kratos sees, it's not the room they're in.

Daichi drops the bottle in surprise. "Ach... By Martel's mercy!" judging by the horror on Kratos's face, and the way his eyes look, he's not in the real world.

"do.. I get Professor Sage? or a bucket of water first?" Lloyd asks, watching Kratos close his eyes, pained, a soft, almost broken 'why' escaping him. he seems to be listening to something.

"You get Raine. I'll watch over him." Lloyd nods and races from the room, bare feet padding along. the door swings shut when Kratos manages to scream again, twisting further in the blankets, limbs getting restrained by that, and whatever he was dreaming. Horrified disbelief is his expression now, clear through pain. Daichi frowns, untangling the man. By this point, Shikka and Piers are awake. Genis is apparently a hardcore sleeper. Kratos is making incoherent noises, maybe parts of words that he's in too much pain, by his expression, and too asleep, to properly get out. his next scream like noise is much weaker, raw, as Raine comes in.

"I sent Lloyd to get some water." she says, reaching to grasp Kratos's head. before her Mana can form to see what was wrong, he jerked free.

Piers covers the water situation. "Aqua Eructo." He fires a short blast of water at the mercenary. Kratos wakes with a hoarse shout, jerking away from Raine and Daichi, his eyes wild, wide, bright red. It takes him a moment for him to focus, and even then he looked a bit lost, his expression blank. Lloyd staggers in with a bucket.

"You're late." Shikka points out. Kratos looks one from another, recognition slowly coming across his expression before he holds his head, eyes growing back to a duller red. He seems a little confused with the fact he's soaked.

"Wha...t..?" his voice is a croak.

"you were having a nightmare." Raine says, reaching over to feel his forehead. Kratos recoils as if she was poisonous, and falls off the bed.

Daichi folds his arms. "It wasn't a nightmare. I have nightmares and don't act like that."

"Don't... touch me." Kratos mutters. he had hit his head falling from the bed, and was still holding it, not making any moves to right himself. "Just.. don't touch me." Raine frowns, moving over to check on him anyway.

"If you're asleep, how would you know what you're like?" Lloyd asks. "Or are you talking about the jerking thing." he sets the bucket down.

"I've had people tell me what I'm like. I grunt a bit and toss and turn. Nothing as extreme as Kratos. It sounds like a night terror." Daichi says.

"..." Raine frowns at Kratos, who was still refusing to let her touch him, but had just clamped his hand over his mouth. Kratos struggles for a little bit, but managed to get to his feet, and make a rather uncoordinated walk for the door. Lloyd moves out of the way, not liking how green the mercenary looked, before Kratos saw the bucket, and changed course. He proceeds to get sick into it. Daichi winces. Lloyd stares for a second, before turning a little green himself and looking away.

"He took some of the stuff in the black bottle." Lloyd offers. "was dead to the world when we came up." Raine frowns at Kratos, who was doing a good job of emptying his stomach without getting his hair caught up in it, and takes up the bottle.

"Pills." Daichi offers. "Maybe some weird ones to induce sleep?" Raine gets one out, and sniffs it, nudging it with her finger to study it in the candle light as Kratos sits, head in hands, next to the bucket. She uses a bit of magic on it, and whirls on Kratos.

"How many of those did you take?!"

"Three."

"With your body, you should barely be able to take one before passing out!" Raine doesn't seem pleased with Kratos's self-medication.

"What is it?" Piers asks.

"It's a powerful narcotic, with some paralytic side effects. And a man as light as you shouldn't take three!" Raine snaps.

"I've been taking them for years." Kratos snaps back. "It's up to me to decide how many to take and I'll take as many as I need for it to work!"

"You put too much of this in your system and it'll give you nightmares." Raine says.

"I take them for the nightmares!"

"then take something else." Raine says, trying to keep her voice from rising. Kratos was glaring now.

"you think I haven't? I take those because the other kinds of narcotics don't work anymore!" he abruptly turns back to the bucket and dry retches. Raine looks a little bit ashamed, but not enough to get rid of her rage. Lloyd looks between the two.

"... you two will wake the whole House..."

"Yeah. Can we talk about this later?" Daichi yawns. Kratos stops, and just sits over the bucket, while Raine calms herself.

"I'm going to see if you need healing in the morning." she tells him, still frowning. "If I have to make Noishe sit on you."

"..." Kratos says nothing, but gets up slowly. "I'll be fine by then." Raine leaves, taking this as an ok, and Kratos moves back to his soaked bed, frowning at it. he sits on a dry spot on the floor. Piers siphons off the water, leaving it merely damp. Kratos blinks, and nods at Piers, before climbing back into the bed and falling asleep. he doesn't seem so dead this time. Lloyd frowns, and then opens the window, and dumps the bucket out of it.

".. he's still asleep." Lloyd notes of Genis, heading back to his bed.

* * *

October 26th

* * *

Lloyd blinks awake. Kratos is shifting his shoes about with one foot, looking disgusted with himself.

"...Morning?" Lloyd says. Shikka is sitting like a big cat, watching the two placidly, tail swishing. Kratos glances at him, then works on his shoes.

"... Morning." he replies. "I shouldn't have yelled like that." he grabs the rest of his belongings, and heads out of the room, likely to find Raine by the way he mutters 'get things over with.'

"... I think he's still in a bad mood." Lloyd says, getting dressed more slowly.

"Really?" Shikka notes, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Mhmm." Lloyd misses it. "I think the bed was still rather soggy. that or his clothes were still wet. it's hard to sleep like that."

"I don't think that's the reason." Shikka mutters.

".. what are you guys talking about?" Genis wakes up. finally.

"... you really slept through all that..?" Lloyd asks, pulling a sock on.

"Kratos was having night terrors. We had Raine in here and everything." Shikka explains.

"Seriously?" Genis asks, eyes wide. "I just had a dream that somehow I had Lloyd's grades and Raine was yelling at me. A lot." Lloyd frowns at him.

"I'll go start breakfast, if someone hasn't already." Lloyd says, grabbing his stuff and heading out. Daichi and Piers wake.

The first thing Daichi does is down some 'painkillers' and comment to Genis. "Oh. Awake now?"

"Yeah. I guess I sleep like a rock." Genis says, pulling out clean-ish clothes. ".. we should have used their laundry room last night." it was all hand wash, but better than using a river.

Daichi finishes getting ready, stretching as he stands. "Meh. I can only wear one set of clothes anyway. My uniform and the over-top stuff."

Genis gives him a wary look. "I thought we got you two sets of clothes."

"I know, but that elf is skittery about Desians. And I still wanna be protected by SOMETHING." Daichi mutters.

"You could get a set of armor like the rest of us." Genis says, pulling at his robe like armor.

"I prefer mine. 50 years of wearing the same armor has an impact on people."

"Wow. You're old. Must be a longer-lived half-elf." Genis says, blinking. "I'm going to make sure Lloyd doesn't burn anything by getting distracted." He takes his book and pack and moves downstairs. Kratos is sitting on a chair, looking annoyed as Raine checks him with Mana. Daichi, Piers and Shikka join the others downstairs. Daichi seems tired and, surprisingly, not hungry. Lloyd has made omelets, and only one of them seems slightly blackened.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with you. No trace of the drug, and whatever problem you had, it's not physical." Raine says, taking her hands back. Kratos looks a little more comfortable sitting there now.

"I know that." Kratos gets himself an omelet, and proceeds to eat it in such a way that said he wasn't going to talk. Daichi just sits, waiting for the others. Colette barely eats, and Aurian seems to be favoring her right shoulder, keeping it squished up next to her. She sneezes rather randomly, and then seems to be looking curiously at each party member.

After a moment, she points at Kratos. "Cinnamon." when he glances at her, curious, she'd already moved on.

"Cloves." Was at Lloyd.

"...Nutmeg.." was Colette, while Raine was "Mint."

Piers got "Sea." with a confused look, while she skipped Shikka entirely.

"Vanilla." was Daichi.

".. Jasmine." was for Genis. after a moment of looking at them, she nods, and goes back to eating.

"Uh... You missed me out." Shikka states. Aurian blinks, and leans to sniff at him. She doesn't get too close to him, only about half a foot away. She pulls back confused.

"No smell." She says, going back to her food. Genis blinks.

"I'm pretty sure he has some smell to him..." Lloyd sniffs himself, and makes a face.

"I don't smell like cloves..."

"And I don't smell like the sea...But I bet my magic does!" Piers states, twigging onto what she means. "She can scent Mana!"

Lloyd frowns. "but I can't use magic." he looks rather curious though, and leans over toward Kratos, nearly putting his nose in Kratos's hair. Kratos looks disturbed by this as Lloyd sniffs. "Hey! you do smell like cinnamon! Pine..." Lloyd inhales again. "... lavender? did you take a bath?!" Kratos pushes Lloyd away with a palm to the face.

"Get off." Piers sniggers, watching Lloyd's behavior. Daichi looks as though he couldn't care less.

Shikka nods. "Yeah. I can't use magic. Although, I've heard Laguz are magical creatures..."

"Everyone has Mana." Raine sighs, leaning back and watching Aurian. "It keeps us all alive. those who can tap it can use magic. I don't know what she means by the scents though."

"Everyone had a different one." Kratos has finished eating, and leaves as Genis makes this comment.

"Huh...Must be because I'm different..." Shikka ponders. Piers eye-shifts, knowing his Psynergy is like Mana, but not. He coughs lightly.

Daichi looks up. "So why is water vanilla? And why doesn't Piers smell of vanilla?"

"Just smells like smell." Aurian shrugs.

"What's cloves then?" Lloyd asks, leaning forward. Aurian blinks at him.

"..." she looks troubled. "Don't remember..."

Raine frowns, watching Aurian. "... looks like she doesn't remember much about magic. Maybe if she remembers more magic, she'll remember what they all mean."

"... Colette's an angel, she uses Angelic Mana." Genis muses. "Maybe that's what Nutmeg is. Raine heals most out of all of us.. maybe that's Mint." Aurian looks confused as well as Lloyd, while Colette takes care of her bowl. "Lloyd uses sword-magic. Kratos... uses Sword magic, and some of the elemental magic's.... but I use the four main elemental magic's, and mine was different than his."

"Maybe it's different per person rather than per Mana type." Raine says, glancing at Aurian. she still looked troubled, and had started holding her head. "In any case, make sure we're packed up. we're heading back to Hakonesia Peak."

"'bout damn time." Daichi mumbles. Those pills seem to make the half-elf worse than better. Raine frowns at him, but takes her stuff off to the kitchen as well, before heading upstairs with Aurian to make sure they had everything. Kratos was outside by this time. Shikka and Daichi were with him. Daichi had some sunglasses on. God knows where he got them from. Kratos gives him a single curious glance, but continues cleaning his blade. Lloyd comes out to go talk to and brush Noishe. Daichi cleans up his axe. The rest of them leave the House of Salvation, and they head up for Hakonesia peak. Kratos remains silent, even when some of the others, namely Lloyd and Colette, attempt to strike up a conversation. Shikka still seems deep in thought, tail swishing as he walks.

"So. What was that night terror about." Daichi says, looking at Kratos. Kratos masks a flinch.

"..." his expression says that he had hoped that they had all forgotten about that. ".. they are lucid, but I cannot control them. they're normal nightmares beyond that fact." He mutters.

"... lucid?" Lloyd asks, confused.

"Clear. Life-like." Piers clears up.

"Very, painfully, real." Kratos mutters.

"Usually, Lucid Dreaming means you can control your dreams. Say, if you were dreaming that you were failing a test, Lloyd, you could ace it." Genis clears up. Lloyd frowns at Genis.

"Or falling asleep in class. You could wake up before Raine notices." Piers adds. Lloyd makes a face at them, and then fishes for something to change the topic with. He noticed something about Kratos's answer, and turned to him.

"You never said what it was about." Lloyd points out.

Kratos frowns a little, and turns a grumpy stare to Lloyd. "Is that something you need to know in order to live?"

"No..." Lloyd blinks.

"then you aren't going to find out." Kratos speeds up his walk.

"Owned." Piers smirks.

Lloyd frowns. "... must be pretty bad of a nightmare then." Lloyd comes to this conclusion, then lets it drop like that.

It only takes another ten minutes before Lloyd gets bored again.

So he turns to Aurian. "Remember anything about smells now?" She blinks at him several times, a little confused. "Mana smells."

"You can have more than one." she mutters, her eyes sliding about like she wasn't sure she was right, and thus she wasn't sure she should be saying anything.

"Stop bugging her." Piers states. Aurian and Lloyd both blink at him.

"But aren't you curious?"

"he's.. not bothering.." Aurian mumbles, holding her glaive tight again. "I.. just don't remember much..."

"Yeah, I'm curious. I'm a scholar." He frowns. "I just don't think it's worth asking until we clear her amnesia."

Lloyd frowns. "But that could take forever. I'm gunna be eaten up by curiosity. I'd rather ask and get partial answers now, rather than wait a long time for a full one."

"That's the first sign of an impatient idiot." Daichi comments. Lloyd makes a face at him, and decides to drop it. He manages to go for a full twenty minutes before humming.

Piers tosses Lloyd a Rubik's Cube. "Here. Amuse yourself." Lloyd stops humming to amuse himself.

* * *

October 28th

* * *

they reach Hakonesia in late morning, Lloyd frowning at the colored cube in his hands. Kratos looked like he might snap sometime soon, the way he was glaring at the clicking object on Lloyd's hands. the brunette had managed to get two sides fully colored, but was annoyed that he'd have to undo that in order to proceed.

Piers sniggers at Lloyd's and Kratos' frustration. "The Rubik's cube is the greatest, and most annoying puzzle known to man." Lloyd frowns, and pockets it. Kratos gives a sigh of relief.

"So, we've got the Spiritua statue. Time to get a look at that book." Lloyd mutters. Aurian is wide eyed and looking at everything again. they head over to a house surrounded by a field of junk.

"And, if not, Daichi can threaten him." Piers notes. Daichi smirks, cracking his knuckles. They head into the house. The man has a alcoholic's nose, a stooped back and was leaning against a cane. there was a bed, and a small kitchen, but the rest of the walls were covered with various artifacts. a book was on a table to his left. Looking a little annoyed, Lloyd pulls out the statue, and holds it for the man's inspection.

"Oh!" he leans close. "This is indeed the Spiritua Statue! Give it to me!"

"In exchange for the Book of Regeneration." Lloyd pulls it back from his snatching hand.

"I know, I know. Just be sure you remember, I'm only letting you look at it." Lloyd hands it over. "Ah, wonderful." he almost strokes it. "Now, you may look at the Book of Regeneration as much as you like."

"All right!" Genis says.

"Let's start reading it right away." Raine and Colette move over to the book, the healer gently opening the cover. "Hmm..." Runes, and hundreds of them. Daichi yawns, clearly bored. Shikka, also bored, but polite about it, has taken to looking around. Piers is reading one of his own books. Aurian moves to look over Raine's shoulder. She seems rather confused and startled. "It's a very old style." Raine mutters, keeping glee in her voice to a bare minimum, her fingers hovering above them but not on the pages.

"What does it say?" Lloyd asks, leaning over to take a look.

"There's quite a lot of text." Raine says. "Colette, please read aloud just the parts that concern the seals." She moves out of the way for Colette to take the more center position over the book.

"Okay, I'll skip over the torn parts." Colette studies the book for a moment, gently turning pages. "_Raging flame in ancient city deep within clouds of sand overlook the city, lighting the darkness. Pure, flowing water floating, overflowing, in an isolated land becomes a giant pillar and rains down from the sky_." Colette doesn't touch the page as she moves her finger down the lines of runes. "_Sublime wind, ancient city, the world's..._" she skips over a tear in the page. "_enshrined in the center of a giant stone lurks evil, impersonating a holy force. Shining..."_ again, a torn segment of paper. "_Gazing up at the summit of the gods, giving praise to the pillar of the world."_ she skips more. "_From the top of the tower of ancient gods. Two giant..." _she stops, biting her lip. "the rest is too damaged, I can't read it."

"Sylvaranti history is quite dramatic, no?" Piers comments.

Kratos makes a snort like noise. "We haven't had a centralized government in 800 years. the Sylvarant Dynasty fell that long ago."

"Then we don't even know how many seals there are left." Genis moans.

"The 'raging flames' part at the beginning must be the Seal of Fire, right?" Lloyd says, thinking out loud. "What do the other parts mean?"

"The Seal of the Wind must be... The Asgard Ruin." Raine says, looking up. "If we travel to Asgard, we should find some clues."

"What about 'gazing up at the summit of the gods'?" Genis asks.

"I think it's probably the Tower of Mana. From there, you can see the mountains around the Tower of Salvation, so that's probably the summit of the gods." Colette says.

"We were planning on going there anyway, right?" Shikka asks.

"right." Raine says.

"but what seal is that?" Lloyd asks.

"Light." Aurian says. When they look at her, she blinks. "Shining. Light shines. there isn't anything for metal, right? so it's light."

"We know where the seals are now." Lloyd says, grinning at Aurian, who blinks in surprise. "Let's get going." he turns to the door, looking over his shoulder at Koton. "Thanks gramps."

"Thank you so much." Colette bobs a tiny curtsy like bow thing.

"Come back whenever you like if you want to look at it again." Koton says, looking up from the statue. The exit up the pass was guarded, with a gate and all. Lloyd approaches it anyway.

"You have a road pass, correct?" the guard shows them what one would look like. Lloyd blinks, and fishes in his pockets.

"Yeah.. got one." Lloyd mutters, and pulls out a card that he had picked up before fighting Magnius.

"Then you may proceed." the same guard says. The other opens the gate.

"Good journey to you!"

Daichi walks behind Lloyd. "How the hell did you find that?"

"Chocolat dropped it before the Desians took her off." Lloyd says as they head over the mountain.

"The Angelic Language is pretty difficult." Genis says, from where he was walking near Colette and thus Kratos.

"Really?" Colette asks, looking startled.

"Yeah. I didn't really understand what was written. the runes are all strange, looking like they had been cut in, but it's still just ink."

"I've read nothing but books written in Angelic since I was a child so..." Colette says.

"Try reading Lemurian or Ancient Angarian." Piers mumbles under his breath.

Shikka looks up. "My language looks a lot similar."

"I wonder if I could learn to read it if I study?" Genis mutters. "then work on those..."

"The Angelic language is the basis for the language of this world." Kratos says, his eyes along the cliff like edges to their pass path. "The grammar hasn't changed significantly."

"Yeah." Colette agrees with a smile. "I'll teach you if you'd like."

"I can.. provide some instruction as well..." Kratos says slowly. Genis brightens considerably.

"Okay, I'm going to learn it!" Shikka yawns lightly, looking around, rather boredly. the path eventually descends into flatlands, and by that time, it's getting dark. Ahead, following the main path, is a familiar dome-topped building - a House of Salvation. Piers is practicing his Spirit magic, casting numerous shadows to hover over Lloyd like clouds. Lloyd nearly trips several times because he was looking at the clouds rather than the Rubik's Cube in his hands, or the path he walked on. Aurian seems startled by this sort of magic, and just tags along behind Kratos, watching Piers cast. Piers keeps casting. Soon, it's pitch dark over where Lloyd is standing.

Piers smirks. "Payback for distracting me at the geyser." Lloyd walks into the fence about the House of Salvation and tumbles over it with a yelp. Kratos spots the hated Rubik's cube, and snatches it.

Piers makes the clouds go back and walks up behind Kratos. "Uh. That's MY Rubik's Cube." Kratos blinks at him, and hands it back, finished.

Lloyd picks himself up, and gapes. "HEY!" Kratos ignores them both after that, and heads into the House of Salvation. Piers yawns, following the others into the building.

Shikka watches Lloyd. "You okay?"

"Yeah, kid...Break anything?" Daichi adds.

"No." Lloyd says, patting himself down once, and then stretching. "I bounce." he says it with this very childish grin. Aurian seems to have taken it literally by her wide eyes.

"You...Bounce?" Shikka seems to be taking it literally, too.

"Uhh..." Lloyd seems to realize his mistake in word choice. "I'm... durabible." he frowns after he says that. "Duratable... Dagongo..." he can't seem to figure out the word. Genis sighs.

"Durable."

"Douche, more like." Daichi mumbles under his breath. Aurian blinks confusedly at him, but Lloyd grins, not having heard that.

"Yeah. I'm durable. It takes a .. bit more than tripping over a fence to hurt me." he pats his knees. "... i might be bruised." he heads in to the House of Salvation, Genis sighing. Daichi continues to mutter, receiving a filthy look from Shikka, the laguz obviously hearing him.

Aurian rather timidly tugs a tiny bit on his sleeve with the tips of her fingers. "...what... ?" she's asking for the meaning of the words she obviously doesn't recognize.

Daichi blinks. "Uhhm...NEver mind. Don't use that. Bad word."

"Take your own advice..."

"... oh..." Aurian still looks confused. "... why is it bad?" Raine is actually watching this with some amusement.

"Uuuuhm...It just is?"

Aurian makes a confused face. "Makes no sense...."

"All right, let's go inside. They've probably got something cooked up by now." Raine comes to Daichi's rescue, although with a stern look as if to say 'watch your mouth more often', by taking Aurian by the arm and pulling her into House of Salvation.

* * *

October 30th.

* * *

the party had reached the city, which had a good half-dozen inns, either very late the previous night, or very early that morning. Raine was nearly bouncing off the walls, talking about the specifics of the murals painted inside the hills, the historical importance of the Dais at the top of the hill- which would be the first thing they visited that day. Daichi wasn't feeling well again, and Raine's ruin mania wasn't helping much. He had, since, run out of the pills he pilfered from Magnius' Ranch. This was making the half-elf feel much unlike himself. Aurian was staring at Raine like she had just noticed something about her that should have been obvious, and was looking quite startled. Kratos was looking a little down, or maybe just withdrawn, and Lloyd was looking like he regretted ever setting foot in town. Piers has earplugs in and Shikka, due to being a royal, had earned a slight technique which enabled him to ignore things he didn't want to pay attention to. Out of the Iselian trio, Colette seems to be the only excited one. Raine manages to chivvy them all up large stone steps to a dais of stone as tall as she with pillars with some sort of graceful, wind-like creature on the four corners, and a pattern in the center.

"Oh! It's the Asgard Ruins!" Raine shouts, running up to it. "Lloyd!" Raine whirls, pointing at the brunette as he stops taking in the view of the city. "State the historical background of this ruin!"

"Ah, um." Lloyd stares at her like he's wondering why she thought he'd know this. "Well, let's see...."

"It's the temple where Cleo III held a ritual to offer a sacrifice to the Summon Spirit of Wind in order to quell a storm that had raged for a week." Genis says.

"... that's it." Lloyd says shiftily.

"Gah!" Raine throws her hands up in exasperation. "Have you learned nothing at all these past five years?!"

"PE, and Art, and-" Lloyd starts.

"How to sleep without drawing too much attention." Piers offers.

"Astronomy." Lloyd mutters.

"Never mind!" Raine gives up, turning back to the Dais. "What perfect form! This delicate curve is said to express the flight of the Summon Spirit of Wind through the sky. In addition, it is said that this stone is infused with a large volume of Mana, and at night…" Aurian is leaning against the dais, looking.. content. Lloyd sneaks away around the left edge of the Dias. Kratos glances as he passes him, but says nothing, apparently amused by Raine's recitation of history. Colette is drinking it in, and Genis listens with an air of having heard it before. Daichi has also slunk off somewhere, probably in search of alcohol to attempt to make him feel better. A few minutes of Raine's rant later, and a panicked male voice rises from the other side of the dais.

"It's not what you think! We weren't trying to destroy the ruin at all!"

Piers blinks, looking around the dais, taking out his earplugs. "What?" Raine quickly climbs on top, and then runs across the large platform to the other side.

"What did you just say?!" Next to the Dais, was a red haired man and a dark blue haired one, and between them was a machine.

"Professor." Lloyd says with an evil grin. "These guys said they're planning to destroy this stage." Raine drops down.

"And you call yourselves human beings?!" she thumps them.

the red haired one gets back up. "I am a half-elf." he says it rather proudly, as his dark haired friend slowly follows suit.

Raine takes a threatening step for him. "...What ahs that got to do with anything?" he flinches appropriately, remembering her epic kicks, and she moves back to the Dais. "You have no idea the importance of this ruin!" she gestures for the stone behind her, and hits a switch.

"Uh-oh.." All three males say, eyes on the machine.

"You say you're going to destroy this fabulous ruin?" Raine crosses her arms. "Now listen. During the final era of the Balacruf Dynasty, this ruin was.."

"... professor..." Lloyd says, eyes still glued to a meter that was going down.

"What? If you have any questions, I'll take them after the lecture."

"The bomb turned on." Lloyd points.

Piers moves in to examine it. "Huh...Mana bomb?"

Aurian seems to have heard the word 'Mana' from where ever she was, and comes over to sit next to Piers, staring at it. she shakes her head. "... normal."

"I said, if you have questions, I'll take them la-" she notices the two peering at the ticking bomb, and was surprised. "What?"

"Woman! You flipped the switch!" the red haired said. Raine spins and kicks him to the ground again.

"Don't try to put the blame on someone else!" Raine snaps.

"That doesn't matter now!" Lloyd yells. "Is there a disarm switch?"

"Of course not!" he eats dirt once more.

"Hm...I think I know how..." Piers mumbles.

"Don't act like you're proud of it!" Raine shouts at Harley.

"If you're sure..." Lloyd pulls out some wire-work tools. "They're for crafting, but they'll snip anything in that easily." the colored wires are sitting outside, even.

"It's just a question of figuring out the color... One links to the arming mechanism, one to the detonator...The others, I have no idea."

Lloyd looks at them for a little, then points at the yellow out of red, yellow, green and blue. "I think it's that one." Aurian has gotten the idea that she doesn't want to be sitting next to this, and moves away.

"...chuck it off the cliff?" she jerks her thumb to behind the two Asgardian men.

"And risk a landslide?" Piers states. "Well...If you think so, Lloyd. Get this wrong and if we survive, I'll kill you." He snips the yellow.

"oh..." Aurian mutters. The ticking stops, and nothing happens.

"Hey, you're pretty good to be able to stop the uncontrollable 'breaker'." the red-haired says. Lloyd scowls.

"Don't go around building stuff you can't control!" Lloyd pulls the machine away from the dais. Raine moves to inspect the rock.

"... The ruin seems to be unharmed."

Piers blasts both men with a Deluge. Just powerful enough to knock them off their feet. "Don't cover up the past. No matter how painful it was."

"What are you talking about?! It's that damn thing's fault that-" the red haired man starts.

"You there!" someone had come up the stairs from town, and by the elderly look to the man, it was the mayor. "Trespassing in this area is forbidden!" the dark-haired man looks to his friend.

"oh, no, it's the mayor!"

"Run!" they bolt.

They both collide directly into Daichi. The large half-elf stumbles back. "Hey! Watch it, punks!" Both look a little startled, although the red-haired - his hair was pulled back into a bandana that showed his ears clearly, gave him a startled look before they race off into the right half of town.

"Professor! This looks like trouble!" Lloyd grabs one of Raine's arms. "Let's just get out of here!"

"But I haven't had time to study the structure of the..."

"Just come on! Hurry, everybody!" they all scatter into town - even Kratos makes a dash of it. Down the stairs, they regroup.

"who were those two? called each other... Linar and ... Harley." Lloyd scratches his head.

"I wonder why they wanted to destroy the ruin?" Colette muses, looking troubled.

"Yes, the ruin!" Raine says. "We have to stop them from engaging in such foolish acts like trying to destroy a ruin! Let's go!"

Daichi cracks his knuckles. "Just let me at 'em. I heard a lot of stuff about those two when in town. Might not be Desians, but they're as bad as them." With a little help from townsfolk, they reach a two storied house. Once inside, the half-elf from before turns and notices them. "You're those tourists from earlier!" he accuses.

"I am a scholar." Raine says.

"whatever. Get out!"

"Harley, stop it." a pretty woman, with the same dark blue hair as Harley's friend, calms him. "this is my house." she turns to the party. Daichi stands back with Shikka, the two men looking rather imposing. "I understand that you were the ones that stopped Harley and my brother. Thank you." the woman continues.

"I am not sure 'stopped' is the best way to put it." Kratos mutters.

"they got in our way." Harley shrugs.

"It doesn't matter what you call it! The point is, the people of this city are the ones that would suffer if that ruin was destroyed." the girl says.

"How so?" Piers asks.

Harley ignores this. "But as things are now, you're going to be sacrificed!" this, grinds conversation to a halt, and Lloyd looks from red haired to the two blue haired.

"Sacrificed...?"

"It's a ritual in honor of the Summon Spirit of Wind. Aisha was chosen for it." Linar says heavily. "Originally, the ritual consisted of just dancing on the stone platform, but-"

"This idiot started meddling with the stone dais as part of his research, and opened the seal." Harley indicates Linar. "Because of that, that Summon Spirit of Wind-thingy awoke and is demanding sacrifices." Raine looks very interested.

"the seal?" Raine asks. "Do you mean..."

"What?" Colette blinks back to reality. "The Seal?"

Piers blinks. "So. Someone unleashed the Seal Beast and it's demanding sacrifices...Ouch. Tough break."

"If you, too, are researching the Balacruf ruins, then you must be aware of the altar erected in praise of the Summon Spirit of Wind." Linar and Raine might as well have found soul mates. "The seal really existed, just like the legend said!"

"Are you saying that the Balacruf Pillar hieroglyphics are not just a myth?!" Raine's practically giving off hearts. Colette is just as confused as Lloyd.

Daichi grumbles lightly, face-palming. "All this history is making my head spin even worse!" Aurian is just as confused.

"It.. sounds like this isn't the seal we're looking for."

"Raine..." Genis also face-palms. "Aren't you forgetting why we're on this journey?"

"Well, it's all right." Kratos speaks up. "It's not as if we have to go back across the continent, we're already in town." Raine and Linar continue talking.

Daichi growls. "Is this, or is this not, the Seal of Wind?!"

"Not." Aurian mutters. "not feel like water, though wind. not... enough."

"Yes!" Linar spoke louder in his excitement. "In the back of the platform there is a small indentation, and -"

"That's enough!" Harley yells. "Aisha's about to be sacrificed to the Summon Spirit tonight! Now get out of here!"

"Surely there's something we can do...?" Shikka offers meekly. This is a rare occasion. Shikka rarely speaks to others other than the party.

Raine get's a spark of inspiration. "I'll take her place." she says, before Harley can do more than open his mouth. "That way, we can authenticate the spirit is real or not, despite the feel of the Mana." Lloyd and Genis do not look pleased. "The sacrifice that the Summon Spirit seeks might even be the Chosen of Mana." Colette blinks.

"I see! that's our Professor!"

"You just want to study it." Lloyd says.

Piers sighs. "They could also want someone younger." both of them get a smack upside the head.

"I'm 23!" Raine shrieks.

Genis grins. "You two should learn to keep your mouth shut." Raine turns back to the three. "Would that be acceptable? the rest will wait below the stage in case it turns out not to be the summon spirit we believe it to be." Aisha hesitantly nods.

"Don't blame us if you die." Harley says.

"She won't. I have a good protective spell." Piers comments. Aurian merely firmly grips the glaive that she had yet to get a carrying case for. It looks a bit off with how confused she looks. Raine claps her hands.

"Well, then, I should change clothes now. Would you mind?" She looks pointedly at the group. The boys quickly leave. the rest of the party leaves too, as well as Harley and Linar, and after Linar looking uncomfortable, he follows Harley down to a cliff face dwelling further down. Aurian takes up a seat. Daichi sits with his head in his hands, cradling it lightly, groaning softly. Aurian watches him confusedly, while Genis, Lloyd and Colette goof off in the wind, which was strong enough to make the two or three windmills on each building make sense. Kratos is ignoring the world. Shikka is by himself and Piers is messing about with Wind + Water. Daichi continues to try to alleviate his pain. Aurian appears to be focusing, and the wind swirls away from her, like there was something blocking it, but it goes back to plucking at her clothes again. Kratos has turned his random attention to her now, as she slowly shifts the air currents in a five foot bubble about her. Raine's return startles her out of whatever little magic's she was managing to produce. they head up to the dais, and Raine performs this ritual thing that doesn't look like a dance at all. The runes on the dais glow. a monster of sorts appears. it has an ax blade for tail and legs, and the torso of a violet large humanoid, with yellow curving horns, and violet wings from its back.

"I have come for the girl."

"It's not..." Colette stares at it, before her wings flare open. "No, Professor! That is an evil creature. It's not the guardian of the seal!" Weapons are drawn. Piers draws his staff, beginning to cast. Shikka tenses and Daichi draws his axe. Lloyd is not surprisingly the first to reach the creature, vaulting onto the platform with a palm as Raine moves backwards to the edge before turning to drop down, Kratos a few strides behind him. Colette flew up, hovering about the pillars on the corners of the dais to attack the monster below.

"Windmaster!" Genis shouts, the lens crumbling in his hands. "Wind is a bad idea!"

"Grounda!" Piers launches jagged rocks at the creature. Daichi is up, also, swinging his axe for its flank. Shikka shifts, pouncing for the beast. Windmaster wobbles - it's floating in the air above the stage, and then curls over.

"Move!" Kratos barks, as it begins to summersault - with an ax blade for a tail, a rather dangerous move. Lloyd yelps, but runs clear, as Aurian drops back off the edge of the platform. Piers keeps pelting the creature with projectile spells. Diamond Dust, Grounda, Icicle etc. Aurian climbs onto the platform to help out with her glaive, but the Windmaster uses Turbulence on her - a low leveled wind spell that picked her up, and dropped her off the platform, even with her strange ability to soak up Mana. Genis used Stalagmite, Grave, and Stone Blast, three earth spells that struck from below. Raine was healing people whenever she could notice that they needed it. Daichi switches towards Aqua, Aqua Edge and his axe, pelting the creature. The Windmaster seems annoyed with the amount of attackers, and magical attacks. He sends a string of slashes like Demon Fangs, but through the air at the mages, but Aurian does something with her glaive, a sweep, and a section of air simple stops the attacks - the edges of them continue over, but harmlessly. Aurian seems as startled as the Sages, but the battle wasn't done. Piers flinches from the attack, shuddering. Kratos was alternately using his low-level spells and attacking with blade alongside Lloyd, who just nimbly jumped out of the way - if not always far enough - from the Windmaster's attacks. Colette was likely the best dodger... even if she looked like she tripped all of the way up there in the air more than once. Piers keeps casting. Relentless, but soon beginning to slow down. Aurian notices, and shifts closer to him, while keeping most of her body further. she offers him a hand that shimmered weakly with a grayish blue glow. Raine was healing Lloyd of a gash in his shoulder from a claw he hadn't twisted out of the way from, while Kratos casted Grave. Piers blinks, taking it. Daichi and Shikka are being beaten. Badly. It's Water Mana, with a bit of un-aligned to it. probably feels rather tingly. Aurian doesn't look like it's comfortable for her either, because once the glow is gone from her hand she takes it back.

"Help is on the way!" Raine shouts. "Nurse!" ten humanoid shaped glows of green healing Mana race across the field, pressing into one person each. it was more powerful than a First Aid. Piers shudders, his body rejecting the Mana by making the teen throw up. Aurian looks terrified, but more by the fact she thought she hurt him. Kratos seems very annoyed by the Windmaster, by the way his swings seemed to be getting wider, wide enough to attack something behind him even if there wasn't anything there. Lloyd is still rather gleefully slashing away, even with the scattered rips in his clothes. Daichi has likewise rips, showing the armor beneath. Luckily, not enough is on show. Kratos has fewer, but it still shows some well kept mesh-maille under his strange shirt. Aurian keeps making her wind-wall whenever the Windmaster chooses attack the mages, but she's looking strained, even with squishing next to the dais. Lloyd suddenly gets this massive grin.

"Tempest!" he severs a wing from the beast with his somersaulting attack. Piers keeps casting, throwing up every now and then. Kratos's next swing bites deep into its wrist, above its clawed hand, and his sword sticks there. Kratos's expression shifts incredibly annoyed as he wrenches his blade free, but catches a blow from the Windmaster's other set of claws for taking off the first hand. Piers is out, Daichi managing to embed his axe in the tail. It seems to be having trouble hovering now, even if it had been using a small vortex of wind rather than its wings, but Lloyd comes back with another Tempest, Kratos uses Lightening Blade, and the damage to its tail makes it crumple. Daichi retrieves his axe, attacking the beasts underbelly. A Grave and Thunder Blade cast at the same time, the large blade dropping from the sky and the slabs of slate thrusting from beneath at the same time. it does what most monsters didn't, and most seal beasts did - vanishing in a poof of Mana, and a stone tablet. Kratos moved over to the edge of the dais and sat down, cleaning and checking his blade. Lloyd moved over to his friends, Colette fluttering down, while Raine and Genis turned to check on Piers. Aurian was sitting with her back against the dais, looking contented, if tired. Piers is just exhausted as usual. Linar shortly gets Raine's attention. the other scholar had climbed onto the dais after the Windmaster had been defeated, and picked up the tablet, and now Raine and him were going all scholarly-ruin-mode over it, before they both head off for Linar's house. Aisha and Harley remain behind.

"Thank you very much." Aisha bows to them. Daichi wavers slightly, falling to his knees, panting.

"Oh! You're all exhausted!" Aisha says, looking worried. "Come, the mayor told Cool Sea Inn to let you all stay free tonight, it's the least for helping us get rid of the monster." Harley was talking with Genis.

"Yeah, that Raine is a half-elf after all. You can count on her wisdom." Harley said.

"N.. no, you're wrong! Raine is... an elf. I'm an elf too!" Genis says.

Daichi stumbles over. "I, however, am a half-elf." He mumbles.

"I'm human." Aurian says cheerfully. Lloyd sighs, grabbing her, and tugging her by the arm down for the steps toward the inn.

"I thought we already went over this. you can't be, you're too old." Lloyd mutters.

"What? surely you don't think I'd mistake my own.." Harley picks up on something on Genis's face. "Ahaa.. your right. all the human smell must have made me mess up. You two are elves."

"Yep. They're elves." Daichi puts a hand on Genis' shoulder.

Aurian looks confused. "but..."

"I must have not been paying careful attention." Harley says. Colette has already put away her wings, and she heads over to take Genis's hand.

"We should get some rest."

"I'm exhausted!" Lloyd shouts with no hint of said feeling in his voice as he heads down the stairs with a confused Aurian. Daichi hobbles off to the inn, wanting to sleep. Shikka keeps trying to wake Piers up. Kratos watches for a moment, before he reaches to pull Piers up and then over his shoulder. Colette and Genis head down the stairs as well, where they could see Lloyd with Aurian getting directions to the inn. It turns out, it's one of the better inns in the city, with a nice view of the entrance, and surrounding half-standing ruin-bridges. Once at the inn, Kratos deposits Piers on a bed, although it wasn't the same sort of movement he used with his pack on the bed by the wall. Lloyd had already shucked his battered clothes, and by the look of his packs, was likely in the bathroom, taking a bath. they had a two-room system again. Shikka was missing, too. Daichi was repairing his clothes. Genis heads to the kitchen after discovering the bathroom, and the one further down the hall, and the one further down than that, were in use. Kratos is mending his shirt... complete with annoyed noises as he pricks himself over and over again. Daichi sews deftly, precise for one so tired. Genis, if finding no one in the kitchen, starts making dinner. After a while, Kratos either finishes, or gives up on his sewing, and pulls a change out of his pack and walks out. Lloyd comes back a minute or two later, hair dripping and he looked scrubbed, as he starts fixing his own jacket. Daichi, sitting in his Desian uniform, waits for it to be quiet before slipping out to bathe. Genis had dinner made shortly, a large stew dish. Kratos appeared a little into the meal, his hair dripping. Aurian seemed to be half-asleep, and no sign of Raine. Daichi hasn't shown up, still bathing. Shikka and Piers are asleep. Colette and Genis are talking about something or other, most likely because Colette went on tangents like no tomorrow, and Lloyd's enthusiasm didn't help whenever he had a comment for their conversation. Kratos finished and went outside. Aurian went back upstairs, nearly walking into the wall once before Colette jumped up to help her. Genis went up to the male half's room, and started to finish Piers's book.

* * *

October 31st.

* * *

Lloyd yawns awake with sunlight, and blinks as it sounds like the town's busy, even through their nice-inn walls. Genis is snoring lightly, and Kratos finishes pulling his boots on, and does up the double buckles, heading out. Daichi seems to be having some sort of nightmare, flailing about a bit, mumbling lightly. Lloyd looks at him, curiously, before reaching over to prod his shoulder. The man jolts awake, a knife suddenly at the boy's throat. He pants for a few moments before realizing. He slowly lowers the blade. Piers is missing and Shikka is watching the two, interested. When Lloyd had seen the knife, he'd froze up, keeping his eyes on it.

Only when it was nearly back to Daichi did he speak. "Bad dream?"

"Yeah." He sits up, head in his hands, taking deep breaths to calm down.

"want some food?" Lloyd asks. "You didn't get sick, so food is still an option."

"Y- Yeah. Food sounds good." He stands, getting ready, still shaking a bit. Lloyd grins, since his stomach decides that it too is hungry, and then he gathers his stuff, and heads down. Aurian is the one cooking, and it's another oatmeal. Shikka comes down with Daichi, who has calmed down considerably. bowls of fresh oatmeal are on the table and Aurian's sitting off to one side, eating with her rapid-neat way.

"Fruity still." Lloyd comments, setting in. "Whatdidjaput in this time?"

"Fruit, maybe?" Daichi comments. Aurian points to some apple cores that looked to have been cut to provide for the oatmeal, then gnawed on to get the last bits of good apple off them.

"and cinnamon." Lloyd takes a bit of slower bites.

"Is good." he pronounces, and gets seconds. Daichi just has one bowl, not having much of an appetite. Kratos comes back in, looking confused about the fact he seems to have been handed a pumpkin. Lloyd spots it, as Genis spots it almost down the stairs, and Colette spots it from the second story. the three teens freeze.

"Aw, crap. What's today's date?" Daichi asks Shikka.

"October 31st. Why?"

"HALLOWEEEN!" Kratos blinks, as all three Iselian's crowd about him, Lloyd snatching the pumpkin, balancing his bowl on top of its stem, and then they move into the kitchen. Aurian only comes out from under the table after they've left. Daichi head-tables.

"What's hallowe'en?" Shikka asks innocently.

"supposedly." Kratos starts, taking one of the bowls that hadn't been touched yet. "It is a day to revere the fact that there is a life beyond this, and loose the fear that comes with thoughts of the dead. Now, it is a day to dress up, sometimes scarily, and gain sweets."

"Mainly a kids thing?" Shikka asks.

"Yeah. But that lot will find a way to get us involved." Kratos mutters something along the lines of 'depends on the sweets this town has...' into his bowl. Aurian seems just as confused as Shikka about all this. Daichi yawns. "If I did go.... I'd dress up as a Desian. Desians are scary, right?" Aurian makes a soft noise that was definitely an affirmative.

Kratos doesn't look up. "It would likely not be a popular costume."

"I thought the point was to be scary?"

"Scary, or hated? the ranch in this area is not a week's walk from here, whether you stop at the next town or not." Kratos is done, and heads into the kitchen. Daichi sighs, thinking. Kratos comes back out of the kitchen a little hurriedly - somehow, in the short span he'd been in there, he'd almost lost his cape, and had pumpkin guts in his hair. "Don't go in there." is his only comment, before going upstairs. Aurian looks really confused as to this, but when she goes in to deliver the cleaned bowl, she gets spit out wearing white clothes and a shocked expression. She looks a bit ghostly. Daichi smirks. Shikka is reading. She remains sitting there for a moment, before she gets up and hides somewhere, as Kratos heads down the stairs. The glance he gives her was clearly 'oh. they got you.' before he heads outside.

"I shall find Ms Sage." And thus Kratos more or less flees. Daichi gets to his feet, slowly edging towards the kitchen, peeking in. Lloyd and Genis are doing something to the pumpkin that involves its guts flying over their heads. Colette is looking through a trunk that was so conveniently nearby, and is pulling out various lost-and-found clothing to use as costumes. Lloyd is cheerfully talking of his plans to be a Pirate.

Daichi ducks some pumpkin pulp. "Ew." this gets their attention on him.

"What do you think Mr. Daichi should be?" Colette asks. she's holding a dress.

"Desian'd be... awkward." Genis muses.

"Crazy guy with an ax?" Lloyd offers, thinking. he's smearing pumpkin across his jaw.

"I am not being a crazed axeman."

"It'd work." Genis says, grinning. "I'm gunna be a wear wolf. Just gotta find some beast hide. Pretty sure we've got some..." he returns to scooping pumpkin guts.

"Do you think we could bake the seeds?" Colette suddenly asks. She seems to have gotten sidetracked.

"It'd work, but I'm sick of being the crazy axeman." Lloyd is completely distracted by Colette's comment.

"Maybe you could get both costumes ready, and then watch people for a while." Genis offers, up to his elbows in the pumpkin goop as he tries to separate seeds.

"..." Lloyd seems to have realized something. "We forgot to change into... pumpkin proof clothes."

"Really? I wouldn't have guessed." Shikka joins the man at the door. Lloyd makes a face at him. he'd taken his gloves off, and his armor was still in the room upstairs, but his red jacket was sporting some pumpkin gut decorations. Genis was in his shorts and the black undershirt, orange up to his elbows, and Colette... was actually rather clean.

"What are you going to be?" Colette asks Shikka, looking at the dress in her hands.

He shrugs. "Lionman?"

"Zombie!" Lloyd suddenly shouts, holding up globs of pumpkin gut.

"No." Both of them say in unison.

"awwww.." Lloyd says. "Ninja? then we can have Pirate-ninja wars."

"I'm going to be a Faerie!" Colette chirps, poofing her wings out.

"We're too big to be ninjas."

"Muggles?" Genis offers.

"What?" Lloyd looks at him strangely.

"Nothing." Genis shrugs.

"why do we have to dress up anyway?" Daichi asks. "I grew outta that many a year ago."

"Because it's fun." Colette says, at the same time as Lloyd says "Because there's free candy."

"I don't need candy for a sugar rush, thanks."

"awwwww..." All three say, doing their best at a sad-puppy face. "Please?"

"...Fine. But think of something good."

"I still think zombies are good." Lloyd says. "You can use pumpkin for guts falling out."

"I don't do gray."

"Green." Genis points out.

"No zombies. I'm not the brain-dead type."

"Apart from in the mornings." Piers points out, materializing.

"Hi!" Colette waves. She's managed to find something that would work as a tiara, as well as a sparkly dress and something she can make a necklace out of. "I'm going to go change!" She flies out of the room.

"What'cha gunna be?" Lloyd asks Piers, looking at his pumpkin. It had a generic jack-o-lantern face.

"Merman."

"Don't mermen have tails instead of feet?" Genis asks. "How are you going to trick-or-treat?"

"...Magic."

"Oh." Lloyd says, before grinning evilly and tinkering with the pumpkin. Kratos pokes his head into the room, then ducks back out.

"Correction. I'm gonna be a Sea monster."

Raine pokes her head in. "You're cleaning up the mess." she tells Genis and Lloyd.

"Are you going to dress up?" Lloyd asks.

"Maybe." she heads upstairs too.

Lloyd's sitting in a chair in the inn common-room sort of thing. He's got an eye patch, white head band, green vest; leather wraps about his wrists, white pants and turned down calf boots. somewhere, he managed to make Saber-Claws(2). Colette flits about, wearing a pretty dress, a flimsy tiara, and showing her Cruxis Crystal like a necklace. Her sparkling wings make her look more... faerie like. Shikka is dressed like a zombie, adjusting his tattered clothes. Piers has made some adjustments to his staff, paled his skin and is wearing darker robes. A necromancer. Raine comes down with help from Genis, her hair sticking out of what looks like their supply of bandages, which also show through the dustiest looking clothes possible to find. Genis has fuzzy ears sticking from his hair, and large paws for hands and feet, along with a tail that had probably been on a monster not too long ago.

Piers starts sparking off black and red sparks from his fingers. "Magic successfully aligned!"

"Where be Daichi?" Lloyd asks, attempting a pirate accent. It probably fails. Aurian sticks her head out from around the corner, and Colette grabs her. She's rather noticeably ghostly.

"I dunno. Does he even know what to dress up as?" Piers ponders.

"we could always see if some of Kratos's clothes fit him." Lloyd says seriously.

"... what about me?" Kratos asks, crossing his arms. Somehow, Kratos has pulled off old-style vampire. Complete with red on his face and fangs.

"How would that be scary?" Piers looks at Lloyd confusedly.

Lloyd blinks at Kratos. "that's right. Only scary when it's you. Is that.. tomato sauce?"

"No."

"...You scare me at times." Piers shakes his head.

"Syrup?" Lloyd asks.

"No." Kratos grabs a bag, hides it under a dark cloak, and walks out to start.

Lloyd frowns. "What else can you use for fake blood?"

"Ketchup." Genis offers.

"but that's tomato sauce!"

"Ask him then. I'm going for candy." Genis grabs Piers and Aurian, and pulls them both out. Piers yelps as he's dragged about. Lloyd thinks for a moment, scratching the side of his head with the backs of his saber-claws.

"Should we see if Daichi's got a costume then go?" he asks Colette and Shikka.

Shikka shrugs. "I think he's a bit too old for this. Not much suits him, anyway."

"You're never too old to get free candy by dressing up!" Lloyd protests. Raine shakes her head.

"Why don't you three start? I'll see if I can persuade him to wrap up with the rest of the bandages." Raine offers.

Shikka smirks. "Good luck." Lloyd and Colette grab one Shikka arm each, and move for the door. Raine carefully goes back up the stairs to the guy's room.

Daichi groans lightly, throwing up in a bucket. "Ugh..."

"... You haven't been drinking, have you?" Raine asks, even as she pulls her staff from wherever she keeps it and moves to see if she could help. "Although, a drunk could be a costume, if you want."

"No... It's my, uh, illness."

"I see." Raine says, frowning. "Is there anything you think I can help with? Or, in worst case, is there any particular sweet you'd like me to pick up?"

"Nah, I'm fine. I don't have much of a sweet tooth. Desian bases aren't the best places to trick or treat around."

"I can't imagine that you'd get many people visiting." Raine says. "If you do try to sleep, do so on your side. It's harder to choke on your own vomit that way."

"Thanks for the tip..."

"We'll likely be back after midnight, and heading for the Balacruf Mausoleum before noon, but not too early in the morning." Raine says, heading back out.

"Alright. Enjoy it."

"So, it's not ketchup either?" Lloyd asks, having found Kratos again.

"No. It isn't." Kratos does his best to ignore Lloyd while still getting candy. Kratos's bag is mostly full of chocolates.

Piers joins in. "Is it paint?"

"No." Kratos says with small smile.

"... monster blood?" Lloyd asks hesitantly.

"..No."

"Human or elf blood?" Shikka asks, nonchalantly.

"human." Kratos says cheerfully, flashing a fanged grin. Lloyd yelps, and Kratos almost, almost, laughs. Piers pales even more under the face paint.

"Did.. you.." Lloyd is a bit pale too. "Did you bite someone?"

"Maybe." Kratos is amused.

"Did you bite yourself?" Piers asks, fearful of the answer.

"yes." Kratos shrugs. "I'm never sure how clean other people's wrists are." Lloyds gone to about as pale as Piers.

"...You're joking, aren't you?" Piers asks.

"you caught me." Kratos says. "I don't have a taste for blood."

"Y-You sure?" Piers quavers.

"..." Kratos blinks at them. ".. Is it that hard to tell if I'm joking?"

"Yes!" Lloyd says. "Especially with your face!" Kratos blinks. Piers nods in agreement.

"Blood doesn't taste good." Kratos shrugs. "I like chocolate far better."

"I like sherbet lemons." Shikka injects randomly.

Lloyd looks funnily at Kratos. "Chocolate?"

"yes. Is there something wrong with that?"

"You don't seem like the chocolate type."

"And let me guess - you like steak, and tofu curry." Kratos doesn't even say it like a question.

"Everyone is the chocolate type." Piers comments.

"... I guess you could say that.." Lloyds a little startled that Kratos guessed his favorite foods. Aurian is being pulled along by Genis, and they cross this group's path. Aurian gives them a 'help me?' look before she's swallowed by other Trick-or-Treat-ers. Shikka is just yawning, evidentially bored. He gives a good impression of the older brother having been dragged along to make sure his siblings don't get raped by a ghost or some weird crap like that. Kratos shrugs, and moves to follow Genis and Aurian. Lloyd recognizes that he's already been down that row of houses, and doesn't follow.

Back at inn, later.

Lloyd's giggling, almost more than Colette's giggling, and Genis's giggling. It seems they've gotten into their candy already. Aurian is looking a little confused, mostly at the bag of candy she has. Shikka is just sitting there, rolling his eyes, arms folded. Raine comes in, and frowns at them.

"No more." She starts grabbing their bags.

"Nooooo!" all three wail in sugar-high dramatics.

"You won't sleep if you have more, and you'll get them back later." Raine attempts to grab Kratos's bag, only for the mercenary to lift it out of her reach.

"I can keep my own sweets from being devoured." Raine frowns at him, but doesn't take his bag. Shikka is sucking on a sherbert lemon, looking at Raine. He has his own bag behind his back. Raine turns to Piers. Aurian is poking various candies confusedly, sampling them.

Piers is looking hyperly shifty. "What?"

"Did you eat all of your candy already?" Aurian discovers a spicy candy and yelps.

"Nnnnnnnoooooo."

"I think someone will be sleeping in the stable." Raine mutters, frowning. Aurian looks pleased with her spicy candy after she got over the shock of it not being sweet.

"I am not sleeping in the stable. Noishe isn't comfy!" Piers protests.

"Noishe is too comfy!" Lloyd protests. "You just haven't found the right spot to curl up against him!"

"Well. That sounded...Wrong." Shikka states. Lloyd regards him blankly, while Kratos blinks and then groans into his hands.

"I'm going to wash up." He excuses himself, leaving. Shikka stares back at him, just as blankly.

"I don't get it." Lloyd says. he abruptly yawns, and then Genis yawns, and Colette giggles.

Shikka yawns. "Dammit!" Aurian is hugging her candy bag.

"In any case, we should all be getting to bed. and quietly. Daichi wasn't feeling well." Raine says.

"Yeah. And that man sleeps hugging his axe." Shikka points out.

"Kratos sleeps with his sword under his pillow." Lloyd points out, and yawns.

"Surely an axe in the hands of a mad-man Desian is more dangerous." Piers points out, all too quickly. Lloyd, Colette and Genis think on this.

"...Probably." Genis shrugs, taking his were-wolf bits off. Piers starts sneaking loudly upstairs, a bulge in the pocket of his robe. Raine reaches out and grabs it. Piers screams.

Raine frowns. "I'm not grabbing anything that should make you scream." Lloyd stares at her, confused.

"Stop touching my package!" Kratos stops at stares down at them with a blank, almost horrified expression. Lloyd flat out doesn't get it, same with Colette and Aurian. Genis is trying not to turn red.

Daichi pokes his head out at the top of the stairs. "Stop raping each other! Some people are tryin' to sleep!" Kratos blinks, and continues on. Raine goes red, and pulls out the bag of candy. Lloyd still looks confused, and catches up to Kratos, Aurian on his heels.

"What's raping?" Lloyd asks. Kratos looks startled.

"..." Shikka disappears. Piers runs upstairs. Raine also takes off, taking Colette and Genis with her. Kratos notices them all abandoning him to this explanation.

".... Nothing good." Kratos mutters.

"That's not what it is though." Lloyd pokes him. Shikka edges away.

"I don't want to tell you." Kratos says.

"But I want to know!" Lloyd's still got enough sugar power to not let go. Kratos gets a brilliant idea.

"Ask Daichi. He said it." Shikka face palms.

"Good idea." Lloyd grins, darting away. Kratos watches him go into the room, then glances at Aurian. She was waiting for his explanation.

"..." Daichi pretends to be fast asleep. Lloyd moves around, and checks for the Ax. Daichi is lying atop of it.

Lloyd jumps on him. "ARG! Ya can't be sleepin already!"

Daichi yelps, flailing. "Gerroff me, kid!"

Lloyd grins, backing off. "So, what's 'raping'?" Little weird to hear it with his cheery smile.

"Not telling."

"But you said it!" Lloyd whines. "And Kratos won't tell me. And Raine ran off. So who's going to tell me?"

"Find out for yourself."

Lloyd gives him a weird look. "But how am I supposed to know what I'm looking for if I don't know what it is?"

"I dunno."

"You just don't want me to know." Lloyd says, pouting.

"It's a stupid, cruel act one person enacts upon another." Kratos says, scowling at them both. "That's all you need to know about it, and don't bring it up again."

"See. Betcha didn't want to know now."

"But that still doesn't tell me what it is." Lloyd grumbles.

Kratos shoves him onto a bed. "You don't want to know more." His voice is low, cold, dead. Kratos's doesn't lean over, or glare, or anything of that sort. If anything, his face is pained. "No matter what you may think, how much curiosity you may have, this is something you do _not_ want to know." Lloyd remains silent while Kratos sheds his costume for bed. Daichi smirks. Piers materializes, having managed to steal his 'package' back from Raine. Kratos says nothing, ignoring the world, but Lloyd brightens. Genis rolls his eyes.

"You're gunna get it when she notices." He whispers, claiming his bed again.

"I has necromancy now." Piers grins evilly.

"And Sis has light magic." Genis points out.

"...Damn."

"Goodnight." Kratos says firmly. Lloyd blinks, then takes his costume apart and goes to bed. Piers merely flops over, fast asleep before he hit the pillows.

* * *

(1)Apparently, 'is annoying'... Leon said it.

(2)Think Wolverine. But not literally from his hands. They're, in Lloyd's case, wires that curl an inch or two off his knuckles, and go down to be bound in the leather wraps about his wrists.


	21. Underground Wind

Long chapter again. -

* * *

November 1st

* * *

Kratos silently sits up, glancing about in the pre-dawn light. He quietly gathers his belongings, before standing and walking for the door. Daichi is standing outside, staring at the sky. He's strangely emotionless. Kratos spots him on his way to the kitchen. He makes minimal noise as he gathers utensils, and starts cooking. Daichi doesn't move or look around. There's a slight shimmer in the air behind him. Slight impression of wings. Kratos abruptly stops, almost like he'd been jolted. He turns and stares hard at Daichi. The shimmer is no longer there. Daichi is just standing there. He turns around, looking directly at Kratos, his eyes kind of empty. Kratos is scowling, but nothing more to his face than that. After a moment, he goes back to his cooking, but he seems to be thinking, and thinking hard. After a moment, after he put his dish into the oven, he goes back over and watches Daichi, scowling. Daichi stares blankly back at him. Kratos's fingers dance with shifting-blue light, and make the image of wings before him - like Colette's, but four wedges of the same sort of shifting-blue light. Daichi doesn't react.

Kratos frowns. "..." he's staring at Daichi as if Daichi shouldn't be walking around. "... not of Kharlan, I assume.." his eyes narrow. "couldn't be a child of one, they don't leave..."

"what are you talking about?" Daichi asks blankly.

"I don't suppose you'd actually know." Kratos says, a grim smirk like expression on his face. "Unless you were lying to me before. Angelus Project. Heard of it?"

"No."

"how did you get them, then?" Kratos asks, casually. The glow about his fingers flaps once, and vanishes. "wings."

"Wings?" He looks behind him. "I have no wings."

"Of course." Kratos mutters, turning back toward the kitchen. He pauses, regarding Daichi from the corner of his eye, then the ceiling above. after a moment, the hazy impression of the same style of wings he had drawn in the air appears at his back. "What wings indeed..." they vanish as he looks at the oven. Daichi stares at Kratos before returning his view to the sky. Kratos ignores Daichi. The scent of baking brownies calls Lloyd downstairs and the teen stares in shock at Kratos. Daichi has returned inside, still slightly dead-looking.

"What?" Kratos asks while poking the brownies with a fork to see how well done they were. "Is there something on my face?"

"... You can cook. Other than coffee." Lloyd is still half asleep.

"Yes." Kratos is annoyed. "See if I give you any, should you continue those comments..." The oven shuts again.

"Why brownies?"

"I like chocolate. And brownies are chocolate. there is nothing more to it." Daichi sits, then slumps, obviously not paying attention.

"Right..." Lloyd is still weirded out by Kratos cooking.

Genis comes down next. "I smell brownies!" He too stops in mild shock at Kratos in the kitchen.

"... If you're going to stare at me, I'm sure I can find a way to eat the entire pan myself."

"Noooooo! Both teens wail.

"I didn't stare. Can I have one?" Daichi says, head on the table.

"Once they're done." Kratos mutters, crouching before the oven. Lloyd and Genis hover behind him. It takes a little while for Kratos to get annoyed with them. "Go eat something that at least looks healthy. I take no responsibility should Ms Sage get irritated at your choice in breakfast foods." Genis and Lloyd look at each other and break out fruit. Kratos gets the pan and small plates out.

Daichi yawns, seeming to come back to his senses slightly. "I had a weird dream."

"Really?" Lloyd sits next to him, an apple rapidly vanishing from his hand. Kratos starts cutting up the brownies and then counting plates and forks.

"Aye. Trying to remember it clearly, but Kratos was in it for some reason."

"That would make it weird." Lloyd agrees. Kratos snorts, setting the pan down with plates and forks.

"Don't eat it all." He warns, before going back to his plate. It looks like he cut a square out of the center.

"He had wings. Angel wings. And so did I. Light blue. Like Aqua Mana." Lloyd stares at him, then at Kratos, who had his back to them as he ate his brownies. Lloyd remains silent, but Genis snorts.

"Kratos, an Angel?" Genis asks around a bite of brownie. "I think he fits the bill for demon better."

"And yet you eat my brownies..." Kratos mutters.

"Brownies are brownies!" Genis says. Lloyd looks like he's trying to think and its failing horribly. Daichi seems transfixed on Kratos' back. He reaches to his neck and slips his Exsphere off its Key Crest. It glints a dull red. Lloyd rubs his head as Genis looks between the two of them, and starts reaching for Lloyd's half-eaten brownie.

"No you don't!" Lloyd rescues his snack, all traces of hard thought gone.

Daichi claims his own. "I always wondered why mine was red and the others are mostly blue."

"Dunno." Lloyd says, looking at his. his was definitely more purple than Genis's, or Kratos's sky blue. Daichi re-equips it, yawning again.

Kratos hides a shudder, shutting the window. "Wind is picking up again."

"Are you eating brownies for breakfast?" Raine demands, at the top of the stairs. "Kratos, did you make them brownies for breakfast?" Somehow he was correctly pegged as the one who cooked the treat.

"I made them, they ate it. You want some before Lloyd inhales the rest of the pan?"

"Brownies!" Colette chirps, pulling Aurian down the stairs with her.

"Someone mention Brownies?" Piers chirups in. Colette snags some and gives Aurian a plate as well. The Chosen happily eats, but Aurian prods it with a fork. Piers pounces, literally, a chair, grabbing a brownie.

"Don't like them?" Lloyd asks, watching Aurian as Raine gets herself a plate as well.

"....Looks like..." She doesn't continue speaking, just with her prodding of the brownie.

"Looks like what?" Lloyd completely misses her hesitation, but Kratos doesn't. He's suddenly looking amused.

"Like someone already ate it." Aurian mutters, frowning at her now crumbles of brownie.

"No, doesn't really look like someone chewed it for you..." Lloyd got it, eyes wide. Daichi face palms.

"It's a chocolate... bread." Kratos explains. he even sounds like he's amused for once. "... With a lot of chocolate in it." He almost reached to give himself seconds, but paused. "... Where is Shikka?" No-one answers. No-one seems to know. "....." Kratos looks at the remaining brownies. "...." a quick second of thought snatches them on two plates out of Lloyd's grasp. "I'll see if he wants some." Kratos vanishes as Aurian takes a tentative nibble of her brownie. And then devours it. Shikka is on the roof watching the sun. Kratos sticks his head out a window, twisting to look up. "Do you want brownies?" He asks, holding one of the plates out.

"Thanks." Shikka takes one.

"Double chocolate." Kratos says, taking the second and eating bits at a time. "Or maybe triple. In any case, Ms Sage will not be pleased if this is the entirety of your breakfast, and I believe the intent is to head out for the Mausoleum soon."

"She can try to control my diet if she wants. She'll fail." He smirks.

"Hm." Kratos snorts in agreement, finishing his brownie. "..." he turns and leaves. Aurian, Lloyd and Genis are picking at the tray to try to get the scraps of Brownie off it.

* * *

November 5th

* * *

Late evening, near enough to full night that they would have stopped half an hour back but for the fact that the Mausoleum was in sight, and the party makes it to the half-in-a-hill stone building.

"Colette!" Raine shoves the tablet into the girls hands. "Climb the central stairway and offer the map at the altar!" Colette nods, while Kratos starts making camp. Daichi frowns, remembering his dream, looking behind him.

"Huh..." He mumbles, taking out the pill bottle once more. Colette takes the tablet and goes up to the altar. before she even gets too close to it, stones shift at the top, opening a slot.

"It's responding to the Map of Balacruf!" Raine practically sqees, moving up and looking over the parts. Colette obediently continues what she was doing and puts the map in place. The Oracle Stone appears. Piers had followed Colette and Raine, watching with interest.

"It's the Oracle Stone!" Genis cheers.

"Seal. Just like we thought." Lloyd beams, and Colette beams back.

"Let's wait until the morning to open the Mausoleum." Kratos has returned, and is eyeing the place with mild displeasure.

Piers frowns. "What's the oracle stone again?" Before Raine can open her mouth and talk long about the marvels of the device, Kratos cuts her off.

"The device that responds to the touch of the Chosen." Raine shuts her mouth with a click and a glare for Kratos.

"Okay. But what does it do?"

Kratos shifts with a sigh. "The Oracle stone knows the Mana of the Chosen's, partially because they are becoming Angels, and allows them access to the seal." Raine's watching him with suspicious curiosity.

"...So it's a key?"

"Perhaps it would be better to think of the Oracle stone as a Lock, and the Chosen as the key."

".. How do you know this?" Raine asks, glancing at him - she'd started copying it down as notes.

"Still don't get it." Piers shrugs, looking away and around.

"Mana signatures." Kratos says, looking perhaps annoyed with himself. "Everything has a Mana signature. Angels, and Chosens, have a different one, and the stone is keyed into that. the touch of a Mana signature they are keyed into allows them to open. Touch of someone they aren't keyed into, such as Ms Sage, and they do nothing."

"So it unlocks the Chosen's power, or vice versa?"

"This..." Kratos taps it. "Unlocks due to the Chosen's power. the beasts we've been killing and the arrival of the Angel Remiel are the process of unlocking the Chosen's power."

"But what does it DO!?"

"Opens the door! That one, right there!" Kratos points at it, his voice an annoyed snap. "With all the monsters on the other side!"

"Coulda told me that in the first place..."

Kratos sort of stares at him. "..." he looks like he's mentally going back in the conversation to figure out what Piers had asked in the first place. Lloyd's just sort of inching away, and Genis is following him. Colette just sort of watches, and Aurian's playing with the fire again. "... I had thought you were asking for mechanics, rather than what we've seen happen twice already." Kratos says.

"I asked what it did."

"Then are you blind?" Kratos asks. "We've been to two seals already, with Oracle stones at each."

"Kratos!" Raine snaps at him. "Calm down! If he's curious, he's curious."

Piers frowns. "Yeah. Cool down or I'll cool you down myself. I forgot!"

"How one could forget a rainbow bridge of Mana appearing over a geyser I cannot imagine..." Kratos stalks off, not to the camp.

Piers mumbles. "It got archived already..."

"Arc...hived?" Lloyd asks, while Raine sighs and moves to prevent Aurian from poking the coals.

"Archived. Like stored." Genis says, shaking his head at Lloyd's stupidity.

Daichi appears from nowhere. "Anyone mind if I cook tonight?"

"Nope." Lloyd shoves the bag of name-chips into his pocket again. Raine manages to get Aurian away from the fire. Daichi snags the ingredients, starting to prepare something. Raine is trying to get Aurian to understand that the fire is bad thing to play with, but she doesn't seem to get it. Genis and Lloyd are talking about something with Colette. A nice smell starts wafting through the camp. Daichi seems to be a pretty good cook. Lloyd starts watching. Daichi doesn't seem to notice, concentrating on the pot of stew before him. He periodically adds a few herbs. Lloyd just watches. Kratos comes back and just sits next to Noishe.

"It's done." Daichi states, pulling out the bowls. The stew looks bland and flavourless.

Lloyd looks at it. ".. where'd all the stuff you put in it go?" Aurian simply scoots away from everyone and starts eating.

"Just eat it." Daichi says, smirking. Lloyd takes a nom, and his eyes go wide and he goes into eat cause its going to run speed.

Daichi chuckles. "Its a Desian recipe. I didn't find the name of it, that part was gone, but its some form of seasoned pork stew. It was said it's so delicious the angels made the recipe." Kratos seems to have choked on his bite.

Shikka looks up at Kratos. "Something wrong?" He asks.

"Inhaled wrong." Kratos says, coughing into his hand. "Or didn't chew right."

"Uh huh." Shikka states, obviously not believing him. Daichi hands bowls to Genis, Piers and Raine. Kratos continues eating. Aurian seems to have inhaled her food and was inching toward the pot for more. Lloyd looked like he was about to follow her.

Daichi guards the pot. "No more until everyone else is finished." Lloyd pouts, Aurian blinks, and they sit right where they were, watching the pot and Daichi. Daichi waits untill everyone else has finished, splitting the remainder with those who want seconds and giving the pot to Noishe. Noishe eagerly noms. "I got more where that came from." Noishe makes a snickering whine, watching him. Kratos shoves the canine's head further into the pot, masking the fact that he dumped half of his into the pot as well. Daichi seems mildly relieved that no-one else gets innuendo. Genis is the first to start yawning, although Aurian is the first to have curled into a ball in her bedroll. Raine's reading something, and Lloyd's staring at the sky. Daichi looks up, smiling lightly. It looks as though the man has recalled a fond memory. Colette glances over, and smiles as well. Kratos is very pointedly is going to be Night watch. Daichi rubs the back of his neck, drawing attention, again, to the Exsphere planted there.

"... Hey." Lloyd blinks over to him. "Can I look at it?"

Daichi blinks. "Uh, sure..." He removes the Exsphere from the crest, passing it to Lloyd.

"..." Lloyd puts Daichi's in his left hand, and takes his off with a tiny hiss, comparing the two. "... Mine's more purple..." Lloyd puts his back into place, and goes and takes Kratos's left hand, comparing colors there. Kratos pretends that Lloyd doesn't exist, although he is watching from the corner of his eye.

"Are Exspheres supposed to have a uniform colour?" Piers asks, looking up from a book.

"... Yeah." Lloyd says, taking Kratos's and moving to look Genis next. "Kratos and Genis have blue. Like a Genis's shorts... Mine's kinda indigo.. purpley colored... Daichi's is sort of ... navy. between blue and indigo..."

"So...A Mix between Lloyd's Exsphere and normal Exspheres."

"Yeah." Lloyd gives Kratos his Exsphere back and then goes to Daichi. "Crests look come in sorts of diferent shapes... so that's not really anything." Daichi's crest is merely the thinnest circle of ore as possible, created for speed instead of decorativeness. Lloyd's is teardrop shaped, Kratos's rectangular with small gem like decorations, Genis's is separate pieces somehow, like a sun. Raine's isn't visible, and Colette doesn't have an Exsphere.

Daichi holds his hand out for his Exsphere. "Weird, huh?"

"Mmhm." Lloyd passes it over. Daichi slots it into place, sighing. Lloyd blinks, blinks again.

"I'm tired." he announces, and heads over to sleep. Shikka is already curled up like a big cat. Daichi flops back on his bedroll, sprawling out, watching the stars. Raine finally banks the fire and then goes to sleep, while Colette lays herself all too-neatly for sleep.

* * *

November 6th

* * *

Lloyd jumps awake when Kratos drops a log into the fire, settling the kettle next to it and going back to shake dew from his hair. Daichi seems to be mumbling, dreaming. Lloyd sits up, and moves groggily toward the fire and kettle. Aurian looks like she's cold, by the way she's got her blanket wrapped about her. Colette gets up, and looks around for the covered well to wash up. Daichi jolts awake, evidently having had a bad dream. Kratos seems to be in a better mood, as he returns to the kettle and fixes coffee. Lloyd snatches a cup to help himself wake.

"You all right?" Colette asks Daichi.

"Yeah. Just bad dreams..." To be honest, the half-elf was having them a lot recently. Since Aurian joined. Was it guilt?

"Oh." Colette can't seem to think of anything to say to that. "I'm sorry. I hope you get some good ones soon." Lloyd's waking up rapidly, and makes other mugs of Coffee to offer to Genis, Raine and Piers. Daichi snatches one himself. Piers wakes at the scent of coffee.

"Nngh. Mornin'." He says, yawning and stretching. Shikka is awake, tail flicking about. Lloyd offers one to Aurian, and she tries to drink it too fast, and seems to scald her tongue.

"Morning." Colette chirps. Piers stands, cooling his coffee down a bit before downing it nearly in one. Genis starts breakfast, which was pancakes. Aurian seems intent to stay in a nest of blankets and watch everyone.

Piers blinks. "It's not that cold, is it?"

"It will be." Aurian mutters. "Inside. Get warm now, keep warm then?"

"That won't be effective unless you layer now." Raine says. "And why would it be cold?"

"Wind. Wind and no sun." Aurian pretends to be a turtle with the blanket.

"True. Wind can be cold with nothing to heat it." Shikka notes.

"Wind cold with sun, sometimes." Aurian points out. "Fast winds, very cold."

"Pancakes." Genis puts the first set on a plate. Daichi snags them, probably fighting Lloyd off in the process. Lloyd looks put out, but sits right next to Genis in order to get the next batch. Daichi eats, smirking. Lloyd snags the next batch, then Colette gets some, and sneaks some onto Lloyd's plate. Piers spots this. He frowns, but says nothing, getting the next bunch. Kratos gets a plate after Raine, and returns to sitting near Noishe, with his back to the party. Aurian snags the plate after his, and eats them like floppy cookies. Shikka gets his last, eating them. Genis appears to have been scarfing one down every couple of plates, because he doesn't make many for himself when he took a break, but then continues to finish off the batter for seconds. Daichi gets seconds, again fighting Lloyd off. And Lloyd again sits behind Genis to get his. Piers doesn't want seconds and Shikka claims what remains. Genis and Lloyd go take care of dishes, while Kratos helps Raine basically show by example to Aurian, how to take care of the camp site. Piers helps Raine also, Shikka and Daichi are sparring with stick swords. Once everyone is done, they head back to the Altar before the Mausoleum. Aurian looks like she's trying to absorb as much sunlight and heat as possible on the walk.

"Okay then, I'm going to put my hand on it." Colette goes to the Oracle stone again, and does as she had said. the stone door groans, and shifts open with dust. After it stops moving, Lloyd leads the way with enthusiasm.

"I feel like an explorer!" He cheers.

"Try tomb raider." Aurian mutters, while Kratos says "You always start out enthusiastic."

"And then you get bored, depressed or angry." Piers quipps. Lloyd makes a face at Piers.

"Tomb raider?" Genis asks, looking up at Aurian. "What?"

"The Balacruf Mausoleum is the burial site of the Balacruf Monarchy." Kratos mutters, pulling a torch off the wall and lighting it with some crimson sparks. "We're in a tomb."

"Hm. Interesting..." Shikka states. Aurian manages to make a half a dozen of her little glowing lights, but they aren't much brighter than the torch Kratos picked up. They step out of the entrance, and the torch abruptly goes out, due to a strong wind that plucked at all of them. Raine immediately grabs onto Genis while Lloyd grins and faces it, spreading his arms. Piers spreads his arms, letting his cloak whip about in the wind. Lloyd's streamers lash about a bit, before Kratos reaches over and shoves them down Lloyd's jacket.

Lloyd yelps. "You're freezing!"

Kratos gives him a look like he was aware Lloyd was an idiot, just not this much of one. "It's cold down here."

"WRITING!" Raine's further down the hall.

"I love the wind~!" Piers yells over the gale.

"I thought you loved the water." Lloyd shouts back. It's clear by his eyes he thinks this is the best thing since...Steak.

"I can like more than one thing!"

"Like Steak and Tofu curry!" Lloyd grins. Kratos has wandered down the other path, while Aurian stands with the most people, keeping her lights in orbit about them. Colette moves to go join Raine, who's complaining she can't read the tablet. Daichi and Shikka act as windshields.

Much to Daichi's dissatisfaction. "I hate wind." Lloyd tries walking forward, and steps on something. a clank is heard further down, and the wind stops.

"Awww...." Raine comes back, and grabs Lloyd.

"Come!" she starts dragging him for her tablet.

"Ah? What?!" Aurian follows. Daichi sighs in relief, following. Kratos returns, and it looks like he's killed something.

"Lloyd! Shoot the fixed torch with the Sorcerer's Ring!" Raine lets him go and pushes him for it. It was right next to a dark stone tablet set firmly in the wall and inscribed with words. Lloyd does so, and this torch seems to burn quite a bit brighter than Kratos's, or Aurian's orbs. Aurian goes to stand next to the flames while Raine translates.

"Aha! 'The Balacruf are people of the wind. They are born with the wind, live with the Summon Spirit, and become as wind when they die.' that's what it says."

Shikka blinks. "So, according to the tablet, the wind we feel are the Balacruf?" Genis shivers, Lloyd makes a face like he found it creepy and cool at the same time, and Kratos looks like a bored person.

"No idea." Raine says. "this is old, and it could be just superstition."

"there's another tablet at the other end of the hall." Kratos mentions. Before he even finished his sentence, Raine had grabbed Lloyd and darted to it. Shikka follows, interested. The rest follow, and this one doesn't have wind gusting at it, although there is a slot in the wall where it obviously came from. It turns out, there were two, with a standing torch in the middle, and a chest on the other side. Some sort of large bug monster was dead in front, with some bits of what might have been a living armor type creature. Daichi draws his axe, smirking lightly. Lloyd lights the torch, then goes to look at the chest. It tries to take his hand off, and he yelps, back pedaling.

"Mimic." Kratos points out, as it spews random gunk at Lloyd. he's starting a spell. Piers gets there first.

"Cool!" Piers hurls ice at the Mimic. It screams, like an injured rabbit. Aurian holds her head, as Kratos grimaces, and casts.

"Lightning." it seems to stop the screaming by paralyzing the monster. Lloyd runs up to attack it, and finds his swords sort of... bouncing off.

Daichi casts Aqua. "Physical attacks do less damage! Use Arcane artes!"

Lloyd swears, because he doesn't have any. He gets a great idea though, and starts running in circles about it. This, other than annoying the monster, keeps it from attack the circle of mages about it.

"Photon!"

"Pow Hammer!" Colette's 'spell' is sort of a spell, but it mostly seem to be dropping hammers out of nowhere on the Mimic. Kratos gets this sort of 'Aha!' look, and casts Lightning again.

"Oh violent torrent, cleave mine enemies in twain! Aqua Edge!" Daichi fires off a few Aqua Edge spells.

"Mjollnir!" Kratos shouts, his hand still crackling with violet sparks. Colette looks confused as she sets off another Pow Hammer spell. the hammer isn't red and squishy looking this time, but a big metal one.

"Uhh... Come, Thunder's fury!" Colette shouts, and a large bolt of lightning hits the soaked creature when the metal hammer connects. It sort of.. falls apart.

Daichi blinks. "A union!" Kratos says nothing, going and prodding the remains, coming up with a lens of a different sort, while Raine goes to look at the tablets.

"A what?" Lloyd asks.

"It's a special type of Arte that combines with another when they're both cast together." He frowns. "I think."

"Yes." Kratos says. "It is different than Artes like Lightning Blade, which is as if one used the spell Lightning and the Arte Sonic Thrust at the same time, as even if you have the spells, you cannot recreate them yourself."

"'The Summon Spirit and the wind that serves it are to be found beyond the carving of the holy seal.'." Raine reads. Lloyd makes an "O." face, while Raine moves to the other side. "'That which the blue wind princess protects heads from the throne and across the rich earth, stands upon the calm earth, and gazes up at the power of gods.'" Raine reads. she then pulls out her notebook, and begins writing that down.

"What does it mean?" Lloyd asks.

"I have no idea!" Raine says, excited. "Come! We must go further in!" she grabs Lloyd's hand and darts back for the third path. Kratos blinks, and hurries after them. Piers gives chase, curious. Raine steps foot in the path, then Kratos pulls both of them back. Right before spikes jut from the floor.

"Woah!"

"It's a tomb. For _monarchy_." Kratos repeats. "the entire place is trapped."

Piers blinks. "Awesome." After Lloyd gets over the fact he almost had holes in his feet, he's thrilled as well. The spikes come up every couple of seconds after the initial strike, and Lloyd's watching them. And grinning. The rest of the party catches up, and stares at the spikes.

"There must be an off switch somewhere..." Daichi states, watching, adjusting his glasses. Lloyd jumps the spikes neatly, grinning. another trap of spikes is another two paces before him, at a faster rate.

"What are you doing?" Raine asks. Worried.

Daichi smirks. "Being a teenager." Lloyd makes it all of the way to the end without getting stabbed.. although once it looked like he'd get a few holes from the last one - the last was very fast.

"Yup. Teenager. Cocky until he gets hurt." Kratos looks torn between following, and staying with the people he was paid to protect. he stayed put with a frown.

"It wasn't that hard."

"Gargoyle." Genis calls. Lloyd yelps, twisting about... but there wasn't a monster there.

"Hey!" Genis snickers.

"Just look for a way to disarm the traps." Raine sighs. Aurian has inched herself closer to Shikka, because she thinks he's likely to be the warmest of the party. "Right." Lloyd says, and begins feeling about. Shikka watches Aurian, raising an eyebrow. She definitely looks cold.

"Aha!" Lloyd pushes something, and the traps stop moving. "ummm... It's not going to last very long." he says, looking at it, and poking about a little more. Genis hurries over, and Raine follows him quickly. Piers quickly follows the two, Shikka making sure that Aurian is close behind. Colette flies, and Kratos moves at the closest to a run anyone's ever seen him move outside of battle.

Raine smacks Lloyd upside the head. "Don't do that again."

"Ow." Lloyd says. "But I found another of your tablets."

"WHERE?!" Shikka stalks Raine, interested. Aurian stalks Shikka, trying to steal his heat without actually hugging him or anything.

"'The great King of Balacruf, Cleo III, died and was reborn as the King of the wind. The king travels the heavens with the Summon Spirit in past, present and future.'" Raine translates, using the glow of Aurian's minor-spell. Shikka sighs, hugging Aurian. Aurian squeaks in surprise, before getting that contented look that you get after finally warming up. Raine glances and shakes her head.

"I don't think this one is a clue like the other one.. the one with the directions." Raine turns on Lloyd. "Lloyd! Have you seen the Holy Seal?"

Piers looks about. "Is this it?" He says, pointing.

Raine peers. "Yes!" it's across a chasm of sorts, or just a place they can't cross. There are two unlit torches, and Aurian extends her spell as far as she can to help them. It's got the fancy circle within a circle with a triangle and wings and all sorts of fanciness. Below it, on another level is an altar for the Ring, and paths go both left and right from its place on the wall.

"What do we do?"

"Get to it!" Raine cheers, turning to their left. "This way." Kratos grimaces, and follows her, obviously keeping an eye out for traps before they got her. Colette continues hovering, and Flies next to Lloyd and Piers.

Piers looks from Colette to the chasm and back. "Uh...Colette can fly?" He points out.

"..." the entire party kinda pauses, and looks at Colette.

"Hi." she waves at them. "I think I can fly across. Maybe not with Mr. Shikka or Mr. Daichi..."

"Fair point...." Piers frowns. "We can get a catapult!"

Lloyd laughs. "Cat... I get it!" Kratos gives Lloyd an annoyed look.

"And just how are we going to build one of those in less than a month." Kratos mutters.

"...Cat?" Piers frowns, obviously not knowing he made a funny.

"Catapult! like.. throwing cats... and Shikka turns into a giant cat!" Lloyd looks smug that he got something that Piers didn't.

"or get one inside the Mausoleum..." Kratos actually looks like he's trying to figure out how to do something that crazy.

"I think I can fly Lloyd... or Mr. Kratos.. or anyone lighter than him." Colette offers. This includes both Sages, Aurian, Piers, Lloyd and Kratos.

"Lame." Piers states, abandoning that idea. "Let's walk!"

"Ok!" Colette says, smiling. Aurian is pushing a little at Shikka's arms - she's had enough with the contact now. Shikka lets go, smiling lightly. So they head around the edge of the building, hugging a wall as the stone path wasn't exactly very wide. Kratos pulls Raine back before a shoving-spiked trap can push the healer into the chasm. Daichi and Shikka have the worst time. Daichi gulps, being affected by light vertigo... This first was a slow moving one... but the first of the spikes had been slow as well. Lloyd works his way to the front of the party again, watching the trap move, and likely going to head to the end to try to disable it. Aurian's pulled some bit of cloth from her pack - strange the things monsters drop - and is using it like a scarf to try to keep warm. Lloyd proves he's likely a ninja, or something close to it again, and makes it to the end without losing anything or getting nudged. it takes him a bit longer to find the mechanism this time, and they shudder back into the wall. Daichi frowns, keeping his footing...Barely. Colette gets the bright idea to hover off the edge, where she can help keep people on the walkway. Raine keeps a hold on Genis, who is second on the tripping-prone list, while Kratos and Aurian seem more or less fine. Daichi and Shikka seem more tripping prone at the moment. Especially Daichi. He slips. Colette eeps, and flies over to grab him. Daichi manages to get back on the ledge. Colette takes to hovering next to them from then on, until they get in front of the 'holy seal' it's the same sort of seal they'd seen in Triet ruins

Daichi sits, feeling slightly woozy. "I hate heights.".

"We can rest here. Eat lunch." Raine says, and Genis quickly offers to make it. Colette wants to go look about a bit, and so Kratos follows her after taking the Sorcerer's Ring from Lloyd.

"Do you actually like anything?" Genis asks dryly. "All we hear is 'I hate this' and 'I hate that'."

"I like dogs. And cats."

"Like Noishe!" Lloyd says, grinning as he gets a sandwich.

"Noishe is too intelligent to be a normal dog." He thinks. "I also like ice cream."

"we don't get ice cream much..." the two teen boys mutter.

"Raine doesn't like it when I eat that much sweets. And I don't want to try her ice creams." Genis shudders.

Daichi shrugs, adjusting his glasses. "You gotta ask to know, kids." Aurian's gone back to sitting right up against Shikka, looking really cold. Genis offers out sandwiches. Shikka hugs her again. Daichi doesn't seem hungry, denying a sandwich. Piers is... Well, Throwing water at a wall. So far, Aurian's the only one feeling really cold, but Raine's starting to get there. Genis isn't, although he's wearing shorts. Colette and Kratos return, with another ring. Piers seems fine, Daichi seems to be shivering slightly, but not bothered by the cold.

"there are more tablets that way." Kratos says, taking a sandwich and nearly picking it to bits to eat. Colette nibbles, and Lloyd inhales the one Daichi turned down. Piers steps aside as Raine will no doubt rush for the tablets. And she does. but instead of grabbing Lloyd, who didn't have the sorcerer's ring, she grabs Kratos, who did. Kratos makes a rather comic expression of 'what?' as he's pulled away by the teacher. Colette giggles. Piers smirks, sitting by Lloyd to eat. due to the shut in nature of this dungeon, you can hear Raine's enthusiastic... yelling from wherever they were.

Genis shakes his head. "Not sure if I should pity him, or say that's what he gets."

"Does anyone deserve Ruin Mania?" Daichi comments.

"... not really." Genis admits. Aurian seems to have fallen asleep against Shikka. Shikka smiles. Daichi chuckles.

"Huh?" Lloyd glances over. ".. where'd she get a scarf?"

"some monsters drop cloth." Genis points out. Kratos and Raine return, with Kratos looking a bit annoyed. He gives Lloyd back the sorcerers ring.

"Looks like Lloyd got nominated." Daichi smirks.

"'The World is a giant. Its ruby left hand is the throne of gods. Its emerald right hand is the power of gods. Its pearl white left leg is the calm earth. Its topaz right leg is the rich earth. And its lapis lazuli body is the blue wind princess'." Raine reads what the tablets had told her this time.

"Sounds like a pin-up advert." Daichi comments.

Raine glares at him. "'That which is offered to the throne of the gods from the power of the gods, which makes the rich earth as the calm earth, and arrives at the blue wind princess, will be as if traveling the giant's body in the manner of a clock's hand'." Raine turns a page.

"Why can't these ancient ruins be CLEAR for once." Piers mumbles.

"Where's the fun in that?" Lloyd asks.

"'The holy seal that extols the king flows from the throne of the gods to the rich earth, travels from the power of the gods to the calm earth, and when the blue wind princess is born in the center of the world, the holy seal shall also be complete'." Raine shuts her notebook. "That's what was over there."

"It speeds things up."

"Sounds like directions." Genis says, frowning. "Remember the bit about 'which the wind princess protects'?"

"Yes, it also mentioned the sorts of earth, and the thrones." Raine mutters. Daichi just looks lost. Kratos spots something, and relays this to Lloyd. Lloyd blinks, and lights a pair of torches. the door with the 'holy seal' on it shudders. Lloyd yelps, backing up, and Aurian wakes up, squeaking and wiggling out from Shikka's hug. The stone door groans, the seal lighting up and slides into the walls on either side. inside is another room. Daichi gets to his feet, adjusting his glasses again. Raine hurries in, looking thrilled with everything. Lloyd and Genis follow her, and Kratos pointedly makes sure there's at least four people between the professor and himself. It's a moderately sized room, and the main feature is a set of five windmill like... things.

"Do we have to make them spin?" Shikka wonders aloud. Raine's delicately running her hands over them, and due to their interesting colors - red, green, white, yellow and blue, Lloyd moves to look too. He lets out a low whistle of appreciation.

"These are gems..." He gives one an experimental nudge, and it doesn't budge. "Ruby.. emerald.. topaz... no way that can be pearl... lapis lazuli.." Piers is examining the nearest one to him. Daichi is looking shifty, but knows that tomb raiding will invoke the wrath of ruin mode. they're in a square, red-green, then blue, then white and yellow. There actually doesn't look like there's much tomb-ness in the area they're in, although there's a different pattern to the flooring around the pinwheels. Kratos is, for once, not leaning against anything.

Piers notices the square. He paces around a track of color. "Maybe this pattern... Hm." Raine blinks, stopping rubbing her face against the arms of the gemstone-windmill, and pulls out her notebook.

"That which the Blue wind princess protects heads from the Throne and across the Rich Earth, stands upon the Calm Earth and gazes up at the Power of the gods." Raine reads, pointing at Blue, red, yellow, white then green. Lloyd pulls out the newest Sorcerers Ring. Piers stops to watch, mumbling something about people called Ivan and Sheba. Aurian's gone back to stealing heat from Shikka, while Lloyd uses the Sorcerer's ring to create gusts that start up the windmills. He spins them in the order Raine indicated, while Genis gives Piers a curious glance.

Piers smiles. "I wonder..." He's thinking.

"what?" Genis asks. One of the walls is rumbling, and its not the one on the other side with the Holy Seal again. it stops shortly.

"This. Cyclone." The aura appears, only this time its purple. A strong, but harmless cyclone appears.

"Wow." Genis says. "That's..."

"non-combat spell." Aurian says, watching.

"there aren't many of those.." Genis mutters. Lloyd's tapping on the wall, when it opens, and dumps a skeleton on him.

"Ah!"

"I remembered that I had the Cyclone Gem." Piers comments. Daichi rescues Lloyd from the skeleton. Lloyd looks creeped out, despite the fact that Zombies were mildly common north of Iselia, and in the Martel Temple. Maybe because this one was just dead.

".. that's not the way on..." Raine mutters. "'That which is offered to the throne of the gods from the power of the gods, which makes the rich earth as the calm earth, and arrives at the blue wind princess, will be as if traveling clockwise."

"So we spin the windmills clockwise, now?" Daichi guesses. Lloyd dusts himself off, and goes to shoot gusts at the windmills. they stop with one burst, then continue as they had with a second.

".. they don't spin the other way." Lloyd points out.

"No, I meant the clockwise order." Daichi points it out by pointing at windmills. "Start at blue and go around."

"Oh." Lloyd mutters.

"Start at red, finish with blue." Raine corrects, and Lloyd nods, starting the mills up in that order. the walls shudder again. Daichi watches, smirking. Lloyd hesitantly goes over to knock at the wall again, starting by the Holy Seal on the wall opposite the door in, and ending across from where the skeleton dropped on him. it opens.. and Lloyd hastily jumps back to avoid another skeleton.

Piers smirks. "Scared, Lloyd?"

"I don't want some dead guy hugging me." Lloyd mutters.

"I'm tiiired." Genis yawns. Colette smiles, and covers a yawn of her own with a little giggle.

"Let's get this over with, then!" Daichi announces.

Kratos is looking at the skeleton, before muttering to Lloyd that "that one was female." Lloyd looks creeped out by this comment, and Aurian's asleep against Shikka again.

Raine's looking through her notes. "There's one set of directions left. 'The holy seal that extols the king flows from the throne of the gods to the rich earth, travels from the power of gods to the calm earth, and when the blue wind princess is born in the center of the world, the holy seal shall also be complete'." Shikka is still hugging her. Raine gives them a mildly awkward glance. "... maybe we should rest. If most of us are tired.." She breaks off into a yawn, which causes Lloyd, then Genis, then Colette to yawn, and Kratos to make an irritated jaw pop rather than a yawn. Daichi doesn't yawn, but Piers does.

"It'd be a better idea to rest before facing the Seal." Raine finishes.

"Even with the wind.. it wouldn't be a wise idea to cook." Kratos is muttering to himself. "and the doorframe is lower than the ceiling..."

".. sandwiches?" Lloyd asks.

"And jerky!" Colette cheers.

"Sandwiches sound good." Piers comments.

"I'll make them!" Lloyd grabs the pack of food, and sets to making them. Daichi sits, yawning finally. Lloyd passes out sammiches. Everyone eats. Kratos moves and sits next to the door, watching from there. the others who are still awake get their bedrolls out and put them to use. Daichi and Piers place by Shikka, falling asleep. Aurian simply remains asleep where she was. Raine appears mildly worried that she didn't wake up to eat, but is quite a bit distracted by the ruins about... before she finally gets tired enough to fall asleep.

* * *

November 7th

* * *

Aurian wakes everyone this time, by yelping and wriggling out from under Shikka's arm. she looks rather terrified, like she'd looked when they'd first met her. Kratos blinks back. He's got a small pile of the coffee grounds in one palm and appears to have been eating them.

Daichi blinks at Kratos. "Were you eating raw coffee?"

"I am." Kratos shrugs, finishing off the pile.

"Whaaat?" Lloyd blinks awake, while Raine moves to try to calm Aurian, who's curled into a ball.

"...Why?" Daichi comments, staring at Kratos.

"because... I like coffee..." Kratos gives Daichi a look like 'why the hell do you want to know'. "... and if I lit a fire after claiming it was unsafe, it would make me a hypocrite... and lukewarm coffee isn't something I care for."

"Riight."

"More sandwiches!" Lloyd cheers. Colette starts making some, while Kratos pretends that no-one exists, pulling his gloves back on. Daichi sits up, again reaching for the 'painkillers.' Aurian calms, looking confused. Kratos glances back, a faint look of calculation to his gaze, before he accepts a sandwich. Lloyd's happily noming, but Kratos takes a bite and almost chokes.

Daichi lifts the bread. "Whats in this?" His seems to be a mix of ... oranges. Kratos finds a half a lemon. Lloyd's happily munching apples. "Fruit sandwiches?"

"Yep!" Colette cheers.

"... less... lemon." Kratos mutters, throwing them off the edge of the path. Piers has a mélange sandwich. He frowns.

"I like fruit." Colette says, making another and handing it to Raine. Raine peeks inside, and raises her eyebrows. She also seems to have a mélange. Shikka is munching a plum. Daichi takes a bite, finding he likes it, finishing it off. Aurian simply eats hers without looking at its insides. Having finished making food, Colette picks up and tosses the scraps over the edge past Kratos.

"The last pattern is red, yellow, green, white, blue." Raine says. Lloyd blinks, and does so. the walls rumble again.

Piers blinks. "What does mélange taste of?"

"Apples, oranges... pinapples..." Lloyd ticks off on his fingers.

"... um. Lemons too." Genis adds. the Seal on the far side glows.

Piers eats it, enjoying it. "Colette, you're a genius."

"thanks!" Colette smiles. the door opens.

"Genius is stretching it a bit. Brave is what I call it." Daichi comments. Lloyd's already heading into the doorway. Kratos coughs, and points.

"Seal." he says, heading closer.

"... it tastes good, doesn't it?" Colette asks, worriedly.

"Yeah. It does. But it was risky."

"oh..." Colette looks a little down. Aurian's back to being cold, and squishes next to Shikka again.

"I-It was still good! You have to experiment with cooking, anyway." Daichi tries to cheer her up.

Piers rolls his eyes. "Deeper and deeper."

"Shut it."

"thanks!" it manages to work, and then Colette hurries over to the way on.

Genis blinks. "Right... soo.. wind. Therefore, earth." He grins, running after.

Piers shoves Daichi. "Move it, gravedigger."

"We're at the altar!" Lloyd says, looking about. Kratos shoves Lloyd's streamers down the back of his jacket after they slap him in the face once. Colette comes up, and the altar reacts. Genis and Aurian shiver, as the wind kicks up.

"Incredible... Mana..." Genis whispers. Altar Glows, and then this.. winged thing shows up.

"Iapix!" Lloyd shouts, dropping the Magic Lens, and running up with swords ready.

"O violent torrent..." Daichi begins casting.

"Supercool!" Piers yells unleashing the spell.

"Cleave mine enemies in twain! Aqua Edge!"

"Take this!" Kratos growls, while Lloyd slams into one of the big-bird things wings, knocking it closer to the ground.

"It's Pancake time!" Genis is also casting, brown auras flickering about both. Aurian looks like she's finally able to breathe, and joins Lloyd with her glaive.

"Grave!"

"Stalagmite!" the two spells slam into the Seal Beast, the smaller spire Kratos's. Colette takes to the air, but yelps and lands again.

"Mighty power aid my allies." Daichi is casting. "

Darkest shadows, come forth to do my bidding." Piers too.

"Increase their might. Concentration!" He casts on Lloyd.

"Torture the enemy with your might! Shadowa!" Piers summons shadows to slam into the beast.

"Ah!" Lloyd brings his blades into an X just in time to prevent claws from giving him a new face. Aurian spins and takes a talon off. the Beast screams, taking to the air again.

"Light!" Raine shouts. "Photon!" Daichi casts an Aqua Edge at the wings. Piers fires ice at them. the beast screams again, flying lower. Raine casts Healing Circle, the lights about Aurian and Lloyd.

"Stone Blast!" It was the lowest level, but it reached the injured beast and knocked it lower. Kratos joins in on the front lines.

"Sovereign gale!" Aurian snaps, stabbing the beast, and despite its resistance to the element, wind slices at its intact leg. Daichi joins the front line.

"Converging Fury!" He slices at the beast, cutting through it to end up behind it. Aurian's easily knocked back by the beast as it flails, although Kratos is only budged by half a foot at most, Lloyd by a few feet.

"Tempest!" Lloyd slices through a wing, but lands poorly from the attack due to the winds.

"Shadowa!" Piers yells again, blasting shadows at the beast. Lloyd stumbles and turns about, darting back to slash the lamed monster.

"It's pancake time." Genis starts casting again. Aurian looks dazed, and Colette floats over to pull her back from the mid-range. "Stalagmite!"

"O violent torrent..." Daichi begins casting. Piers darts in, drawing his Pirate Blade to attack. The rocks of Genis's spell tumble back down, and Colette gets into the fight, throwing her Chakrams. Lloyd's grinning as he slashes and hacks. Daichi casts Aqua Edge, Piers' sword summons a tidal wave. Lloyd backs up, as Kratos uses Lightning Blade. the beast screams again, grounded and staggering.

"Raining Fangs!" Daichi jumps up, slicing his axe, causing a rain of Mana-spikes to rain down on the beast. It falls over with scream, and vanishes in emerald Mana sparkles. they swirl over the Altar, and light flows down onto the roof.

"Chosen of Regeneration..." Remiel's arrogant voice heralds them. Aurian blinks, and hides behind, of all people, Kratos. "You have done well in reaching this far. Now offer your prayers at the altar."

"..yes!" Colette hurries over to the altar, clasping her hands. Kratos glances at Aurian, then ignores everything. "Oh Goddess Martel, great protector and nurturer of the earth, grant me thy strength." her wings open and she flies up. Golden lights come from the sky, and Remiel appears.

"This is the Third Seal." Remiel intones.

Daichi starts to feel a little bit sick. "Mngh...." Aurian's holding her head, but everyone' attention seems to be on the Angel... or on nothing at all.

"You have done well to reach this far, Chosen one... Colette!"

"... Thank you." Colette says.

"Receive this blessing, the gift of Angelic Power from the Cruxis." Remiel extends a hand, and additional glowing lights float to Colette. Daichi falls to his knees, silent, no-one will notice unless they look at him.

"y-yes, Father." Colette says. "thank you." the lights are absorbed.

"The next seal lies far northwest, in a place that gazes upon the center of the world. Offer your prayers at the altar in that distant land." Remiel says.

"I will do as you say." she seems to be thinking a little. ".. Lord Remiel."

"I will be waiting for you at the next seal, Colette... My daughter." Remiel vanishes, but his voice continues. "The end of your journey is close. Hurry and become a true angel. Do not disappoint me."

Colette lands, closing her wings. ".. a true angel..." she mutters. Daichi groans, flopping to the ground.

"What the hell..." He mumbles. Raine notices, moving to check on him while Lloyd peers at Colette.

"What is it?" He asks. Kratos is absently watching Raine and Daichi.

"Ah.. Nothing." Colette smiles. "I was just... thinking when I become a true angel, it'll be amazing!"

"I wonder how many more seals there are." Genis muses.

Daichi grumbles. "I feel fine, now..." He mumbles. "Some sorta pressure when the envoy appeared."

"Perhaps you're sensitive to Holy Mana." Raine mutters. "it isn't one of the main Mana types... not even too much like Light..."

"That... we don't know." Lloyd mutters, talking about the Seals.

"At any rate.." Kratos pulls Aurian to her feet, and walks for the stairs down. "All we can do is keep going."

Daichi nods. "then why aren't I allergic to Colette?"

"Colette is a fledgling angel?" Raine offers. Aurian's muttering about 'soak up sunlight, it's going to be freezing again' as she slowly walks for the exit as well. Colette follows.

Daichi frowns. "Maybe..." He mumbles, standing to follow. Colette's humming to herself. The traps seem to have reset, so Lloyd takes care of them again, and Colette again hovers near the edge to help people stay on the walk. they almost get to the exit.

"Stop!"

".. that voice..." Lloyd's got a mildly annoyed expression as he turns around.

"Oh, no..." Genis face palms.

"This day has finally come." the lilac clad ninja-assassin drops into their path. "This ancient ruin shall be your graveyard..."

"Oh, you're here too!" Colette smiles, walking forward.

"S..stay back!" Sheena backs up. "Don't move! Don't touch anything!"

Daichi looks behind. "Isn't that the clumsy assassin before?"

"yeeeep." Lloyd drawls.

"Now that we've finally become friends, why do we have to fight?" Colette asks.

Sheena looks flustered. "Since when are we..?" she coughs. "I have no intention of befriending you!" she draws her paper seals. ".. Prepare yourselves!" Kratos lunges before Lloyd can do more than reach for his blades, and his kick sends Sheena staggering back.

Daichi blinks. "Wow. What's with Kratos?"

"He looks annoyed." Genis mutters, inching back while Sheena tries to dodge and Kratos simply follows and smashes her back again. He isn't even using his blade yet.

Piers frowns. "Well. That's mildly awesome." Lloyd's got this expression of awe, and that look of 'damn it, he thinks he's so cool' he had at first meeting Kratos. Sheena staggers back again, and Kratos finally stops acting like some sort of murderous cat, and hilt-bashes her in the gut. Sheena chokes, running back.

"why...why can't I win!" she screams in frustration.

"Goodness and Love will always win!" Genis cheers.

"... and grumpy mercenaries." Aurian mutters.

"He seems a bit too fast for his size and age..." Daichi comments.

"Maybe he's a ninja too." Colette muses. Kratos has this incredulous expression of '.. what?', but he backs off.

"Genis... please don't bring up that stupid Dwarven vow." Lloyd mutters.

"'Goodness'?!" Sheena screeches. "What do you mean, 'goodness'?! If you're good, I'm good as well!"

"Not you, too!" Lloyd groans. "Everyone, stop saying corny things!"

"How about this for a motto. 'screw those who screw myself?" Piers offers.

"... what?" Lloyd asks, confused.

"What do you know?!" Sheen yells at them. "When you regenerate the world, my country will be destroyed! I won't let that happen... I swear!"

"Wait." Colette frowns. "What are you talking about? If I regenerate the world, everyone will be saved... right?" Colette worries.

"...THIS world will be saved!" Sheena snaps. Before Kratos can lunge again, she's gone in smoke.

"This world..." Daichi muses.

"Stop!" Raine runs up to the smoke cloud. "Who are you?! So you're not alone?!"

"This world?" Lloyd mutters. "what did she mean?"

Kratos has his head tilted to one side. "That girl.... is she..." he mumbles.

"Do you know her?" Genis asks.

"No."

"This is strange..." Shikka mumbles. "Maybe she... No. She can't be..."

"Cold." Aurian announces.

"Let's go." Kratos turns and heads out. Colette nods, and they, in varying stages of thought, leave the Mausoleum.

Once Colette passes the oracle stone, she starts to crumple.

"Colette!" Lloyd grabs onto her, holding her up.

"It's the Angel Toxicosis again. Let's hurry and let her rest." Raine announces after checking on her.

"Are you okay?" Lloyd asks Colette worriedly.

"I'm sorry to trouble everybody again.." Colette mutters. Daichi offers to carry her.

Piers frowns, bopping Colette gently on the head. "Stop apologizing."

"Don't worry about that, but-" Lloyd says at the same time as Piers bops Colette, but he had a sudden blank, like he blacked out, and both fall over.

Piers freezes then steps back. "I didn't do it." He says instinctively.

"... Oww." Lloyd says a couple seconds later, while Kratos rolled him off Colette, the mercenary poking Lloyd in a less gentle check than what Raine was giving Colette.

"what are you doing, Lloyd?" Genis says, exasperated. Aurian seems to be sunning herself, and more or less oblivious to this. "Are you okay, Colette?" Colette stares blankly.

Piers kneels by Colette, waving his hand before her face. "Colette? You there?"

Genis also moves over. "Colette? Wh..what's wrong? Did it hurt? did you hurt yourself?"

"n..no." Colette blinks. "I'm fine...Hehe." she's talking about the fall, not the fact that her lips are turning blue-ish and she's very pale again. "I just blanked out for a moment." Lloyd watches her, silent, as Kratos pulls him to his feet.

Piers frowns. "I think we'd better get you before the fire. You look frozen..."

Kratos nods, and walks off to where they'd made camp the night before entering the Mausoleum. Like usual, fire is easily made. Aurian moves for that instead of leeching off the stone. Colette shakily gets to her feet. Piers and Daichi are there to help. Lloyd pulls out her bedroll, and folds it into a seat, before Raine pulls him over and checks on him too. the teen complains through it, but doesn't fight.

Genis pulls out Lloyd's bag of name chips, and draws... "Kratos."

"Have you ever cooked a meal before, Kratos?" Shikka asks, sounding innocent.

Kratos glances at them. "For you all... no."

"Except for the brownies." Lloyd says with a grin.

"and coffee." Genis points out.

"Hope you're better than you-know-who." Piers states, motioning at Raine. Kratos gives Piers a very, very bland look, and starts looking through their collection of food to figure out what he could make. Daichi, Piers and Shikka get comfy, Daichi staring at the stars, cleaning his glasses. Lloyd's studying Colette, and goes up to her, mildly suspicious. They're near the edge of camp.

"Colette. Let me see your hand." Lloyd says quietly.

Colette blinks, and grasps her hand. "Huh? Why?"

"Just show me!" Lloyd says, snagging her hand. It's bloody. "You're hurt!" he hisses. "It must have happened when you fell. Look how much you're bleeding!"

"But it doesn't hurt." Colette steps back.

Piers follows, looking over Lloyds shoulder. "Wotcher... Colette...? You're hurt?" He keeps his voice down.

"It doesn't hurt." Colette repeats, almost like she's not thinking. The amount of blood on her hand sais that it definitely should hurt. Lloyd's grip changes for a few moments, while he studies her face.

"what?" Lloyd says, frowning.

"Uh, I mean, it doesn't hurt that much." Colette smiles.

"Either way, I should heal you." Piers states.

"Right." Colette says, holding her hand out. Lloyd's got a curious look to his face, mixed with the serious, it made him look older.

"... Colette... can I talk to you over there in a sec?" he asks. Colette blinks, then smiles. Lloyd studies her for a moment more, then goes to the fire, meddling with the kettle while Kratos sat studying his meal preparations. Piers' aura surrounds him, his hands glowing as he casts Ply on Colette's hand. Kratos glances up, but Genis ahs his nose in Piers' book, Raine is checking her notes on what had happened in the Balacruf, and Aurian is still stalking the fire, and Lloyd is still preparing whatever it is he's making. Daichi is still cleaning his glasses and Shikka seems to be asleep.

Piers finishes, washing Colette's hand. "Good as new~"

"Thank you." Colette smiles at Piers, and moves over to where Lloyd had indicated he wanted to talk, drying off her hand. Lloyd returns, holding two cups of coffee in one hand, and offers Piers another with his other hand. he's still got this suspicious-serious look, but he put his smile back on. Piers takes it, starting to cool it with a bit of magic.

"What is it?" Colette asks, when Lloyd approaches her.

"I thought it'd be nice for us to talk just by ourselves." he's aware that Piers is close enough to eavesdrop, but not the rest of the camp.

"... Sure." Colette smiles.

"... Here, it's hot coffee." Lloyd breaks awkward silence by handing a mug to Colette.

"Thanks." Colette smiles.

"Hot, isn't it?" Lloyd says sipping while watching her.

"Yeah." Piers does indeed eavesdrop, slightly conspicuous, but Lloyd would have moved if it bothered him. "Really hot." Colette says.

"It's actually iced coffee." Lloyd says, watching her still.

"What?" Colette is confused.

"I had Genis make it cold." Lloyd says, shrugging.

"Oh, hehe, yeah, of course it's cold." Colette takes a gulp.

"I lied." Lloyd says flatly. "It's actually hot." Colette dropped her mug.

Piers scootches closer. "So you can't feel?" He asks Colette. Colette looks startled, then smiles and opens her mouth to deny it starting with a small giggle.

"I knew it." Lloyd says. she shuts her mouth. "How long have you been like this?! You can't feel anything at all, can you?!"

"th... that's not true."

"You're lying!" Lloyd points out. "When you fell earlier, you already couldn't feel anything, could you?!"

"w..well, uh... but... uh..."Colette stammers.

"Just as I thought." Piers muses.

"You were bleeding like crazy, but you didn't even flinch when I squeezed your hand!" Lloyd says, frowning.

"...I guess the secret's out." Colette mutters, looking down.

"you haven't been eating lately either." Lloyd continues.

"I eat! Hehe.." Colette protests.

"Barely." she looks down again. "You even started eating things you don't like. And that's not all. Have you been sleeping?" Lloyd asks.

"Every time I've woke during the night, you've been there. Awake." Piers states.

"Mr. Kratos too." Colette points out weakly. "and of course I sleep. hehe, see?" she opens her eyes wide. "My eyes aren't red or anything."

"He takes night watch, and he's probably wired on caffeine or something." Lloyd says, frowning. "And stop lying. You always do that fake giggle when you lie."

Piers nods. "I noticed that, too."

"th.. that's not true..." Colette mumbles.

"... Is it that hard for you to trust me?" Lloyd asks softly.

"No! .. it's not like that! I just..." she clasps her hands, sighing. "I just don't want anyone to worry." Lloyd looks a little startled by this.

"We worry when we're not told things. Look at Lloyd. He made this elaborate plan because he was worried." Lloyd's not sure whether he's supposed to like this comment or not, and settles for asking Colette another question.

"What's happening to you?"

"I don't know." Colette says, but then continues after glancing at them. "I don't know, but things first got strange when I released the Fire Seal. I suddenly didn't want to eat anything anymore. Even when I did, it didn't have any taste."

"...no taste?" Lloyd seems to be trying to comprehend food without taste, and failing.

Colette nods. "I can't hold anything down when I force myself…so, I haven't been eating. I never get hungry." Colette shrugs.

"That's..." Lloyd seems to be unsure if it was cool, or not. "that's.." right now, not.

"Wow." Piers obviously thinks its some kinda cool.

"then when I released the next seal, I stopped getting sleepy. I close my eyes, but I just can't sleep. I haven't slept at all since then. Then with this seal, I stopped feeling anything." Colette finishes.

"Why.. Why didn't you say anything?!" Lloyd asks.

"Well, I figured, this is just what it means to become an angel. So I shouldn't let it get to me." Colette shrugs.

"It could be a part of the Toxicosis..."

"This is what it means to become an angel?!" Lloyd prods her in the shoulder. "Not eating anymore, not sleeping anymore, not feeling anything anymore?!"

"But my eyes have actually gotten better." Colette hastens to tell them it's not all bad. "I can see really far away now. And my hearing, too. I can hear even the faintest sounds really well. I hear them so well that it's kind of painful sometimes."

Lloyd hugs her. "I'm sorry." Lloyd mutters in her hair. "I didn't realize what was going on at all. I'm sorry."

"... Please don't tell the others." Colette pleads.

"..Why?!"

"I won't tell, but why?" Piers echoes Lloyd.

"Well, I mean, we're all on this trip together and I want it to be fun." Colette fidgets. "So, I don't want you to worry about it either, okay?"

Lloyd tightens his hug. "...you're so stupid." he complains, and he's choking up with tears.

"I'm sorry. Even though you're crying for me, and I'm happy, so happy I want to cry.... I can't anymore. I'm sorry..."

Piers scootches in to join the hug. there's a bit of the awkward silence of someone who just saw this.

"... Dinner is done." Kratos tells them, before turning and going back to the camp. Lloyd turns pink and lets go.

"...Was Kratos watching us the entire time?"

"I thought he was cooking..." Lloyd mutters, rubbing his eyes.

"No. He just came up then." Colette says, smiling.

"Good..." Piers yawns. "I wonder what he made." It's chili. With celery on a plate next to it, and a handful of baked potatoes.

"... what?" Lloyd pokes it. "It... look suspicious."

"Says the boy who likes Dwarven Potluck Surprise." Kratos mutters.

"Yaay! Chilli! My favorite~!" Piers states, moving over.

"'chili'." Lloyd pokes the meat-stew-with-more-beans-than-meat with his spoon. Kratos offers him a half a roll that had been in someone's pocket too long while he crumbles the other half to add to his bowl. Aurian eats happily... but she's never eaten unhappily yet, so this doesn't mean much. Lloyd eats. "... good. But what's the bread for?"

Piers eats happily. "Its just like Jenna and Felix used to make~!"

"Who?" Lloyd asks about his spoon, while the rest of the camp gets their bowls. Colette only gets a little bit, but Lloyd doesn't protest now that he knows why, although he looks sad for a second. Kratos heads to the edge of the camp site, eating with his back to them again.

"Oh. Just friends." He dismisses the question by eating.

"Oh." Genis says, eating carefully. "Never heard of this." he mutters, while eating. Raine's gone to find some milk or cheese in the pack of food - apparently it was too spicy for her.

"Do you tell me every aspect of your lives?"

"Do you want me to?" Genis asks warily.

"Not really~!"

"good, cause that's creepy." Genis says. "Where did you learn this, Kratos?"

Kratos glances back. ".... Don't remember." Daichi eats carefully, but seems to get used to it. Shikka denies his and Lloyd and Daichi's eyes lock to claim the bowl. Lloyd reaches for it, but it's not a lunge because he doesn't want to spill.

"oh." Genis says, watching. "... Can you teach me?" Kratos appears mildly startled.

"... If you want." he says, shrugging. Daichi pounces onto it, grabbing it at the same time as Lloyd. Lloyd yelps, trying to pull it toward him, but to the side as well. Kratos seems amused.

"... there is more in the pot..." he trails off, because that's where Aurian is. Daichi pulls it free. Piers is the first for seconds. Aurian goes away with her bowl of seconds, and Lloyd gets behind Piers. Raine's discovered that adding cheese helps.

* * *

I know that what Kratos did was insanely risky for him.... but, who cares -


	22. Ruin and Rage

We skipped. yeah. Disclaimer at the first chapter... cause i didn't inherit anything.

* * *

November 16th

* * *

Late evening.

"So... what's Luin like?" Lloyd muses. They haven't been this far north yet, and it was getting cold quickly.

"Never been there." Raine shrugs.

"It's on a lake. That's all I know." Daichi comments.

"It's a magnificent place." Kratos speaks up. Lloyd has a look that says 'if Kratos likes it... it's probably rather weird.' "It's also called 'the City of Hope' and is populated with people full of life and energy. It's a haven of peace." Lloyd blinks, surprised.

"And a chocolate factory?" Piers asks. Kratos gives Piers a glance that says 'very funny'.

"Whoa.... You've already been there?" Lloyd asks. Kratos's expression of 'I like' turns into a withdrawn one.

"... It's the birthplace of someone I know..." He mutters.

"? Really.."

"Kratos is a Mercenary." Raine points out, although she says his job with a bit of distaste. "He's likely been everywhere you can travel to on foot."

"Ah! There's Luin!" Genis hurries over the hill to down to the Town, and halts. Kratos abruptly halts with a look of shock, like someone had slapped him. For Luin was in Ruins.

Daichi freezes. "Shit. This is Desian work."

"This is..." Lloyd abruptly runs into town, shoving at ruins of homes and shouting to see if anyone would answer.

"Horrible..." Genis mutters. Kratos's expression could only be described as murderous, but he follows Lloyd into town to search. Aurian looks very skittish as she aids in searching. Piers is deathly silent, extinguishing any fires that may remain.

"You!" Genis shouts. he's further into the city, where the sounds of running water can be heard weakly splashing. "Now you're even over here?!" Lloyd hurries over, Kratos silently on his heels. Piers appears at Genis' side, his aura glowing, ready to cast. It's Sheena, and it looks like she's been beaten. Lloyd watches her as she jerks her head up and focuses on them, but remains kneeling.

"What happened? You're badly wounded." Lloyd says.

".. Oh, it's you guys." Sheena says, blinking a few times. "If you want to finish me off, now's your chance." Lloyd appears shocked by this. "I don't have any strength left to fight."

Piers walks forward. "Did you do any of this?" He states, his voice cold. A shift from Kratos tells them exactly what he's thinking of doing if she says yes.

"Hell no!" she snaps, a tiny bit of her fire coming back, before she registers pain from the movement and grimaces. "The Desians... Invaded."

"What?!" Lloyd says, while Kratos turns toward the northeast, and Aurian puts Shikka between herself and that direction.

"Do you know about the Human Ranch NE of here? The people of this city had been hiding some folks who escaped. The Desians found out about it and..." she indicates the city with a faint wince. "the entire population, but for those who resisted, was forced to go, and the city..."

Sheena's external wounds begin to heal to stop bleeding. "If you have broken bones or internal injuries, ply and wish don't work." He notes.

"... thanks." Sheena mutters.

"So, how were you injured?" Colette asks.

"it's nothing." Sheena tries to get up, but fails, sitting this time. "I was just a little clumsy." A pastor screams, running in their direction. running from a large human-like monster in the remains of a dress.

".. Clara?!" Lloyd shouts, as Kratos once again goes white.

"Stay back!" Sheena jumps in the way as Clara attempts to strike the priest with her large claws. This wasn't the brightest idea the ninja's had, as her defense fails and she gets gouged.

"Dammit!" Lloyd draws his swords, but Colette flies in front.

"Clara, please calm down!" Clara hits Colette, but out with claws, and flees. Colette stumbles midair, and lands with a small cloud of magenta feathers. Piers casts Wish again, attempting to heal. It seems that this time, it's the internal damage that's keeping her down.

"She's lost a lot of blood." Kratos comments blandly, watching her. He still looks like he'd rather be killing things.

"You're right. Professor, please heal her." Lloyd says.

"... You're all too soft." Raine mutters, but she does so, the internal injuries healing.

"Why?" Sheena mutters, frowning.

"Why not?" Daichi replies, near instantly. Sheena stares at him.

"Probably for the same reason you saved that man." Lloyd shrugs.

"... thanks." Sheena looks like she was holding an internal debate. "... I know it's a selfish, unreasonable thing to say at this point, but um... I have a favor to ask of you."

"A favor?" Lloyd raises an eyebrow.

"I owe the people of this city for food and lodging. Please. Help me save these people. If you agree, I'll declare a truce and help in any way I can." Kratos looks like he might point out the odds are far against her, but doesn't.

"K-Kvar's ranch?" Daichi looks scared. For a second, there's a grin on Kratos's face, but he turns away and squishes it quickly. Aurian makes a terrified noise.

"... All right." Lloyd says.

".. Lloyd, are you serious?" Raine is a little surprised.

"I agree with Lloyd." Colette says firmly.

"Colette, not you too!" Raine says, frowning.

"What about you?" Lloyd glances at Kratos.

"I see no problem with it." Kratos says. He doesn't sound so angry now.

"You DO know that Kvar is an evil bastard, right?!" Daichi states incredulously

"Very well." Kratos mutters. Lloyd shivers at a sudden very dark turn to Kratos's voice.

"Ah... um.." Genis hedges, then ducks away from Raine. "I'm sorry, Raine!"

Raine frowns, then glances at Aurian. "What about you?"

"I really don't want to go to Kvar's ranch." Aurian has that wide eyed terrified look. "Sheena, don't care."

".. thanks...?" Sheena mutters.

"You people are CRAZY!!" Daichi says.

"That's something new?" Kratos asks Daichi. Raine scowls at the lot of them.

"Piers, Shikka? your opinion?" She turns to them.

Shikka frowns lightly. "I have no objections."

Piers smirks. "Well, Daichi called me crazy, so I'm crazy. Besides, this lot need a mass-healer."

Raine sighs. "Daichi, do you have any objections beyond Kvar being evil?"

"Yes. That ranch is...Its indescribable! I had the misfortune of going there once." He shudders. "I swore never again. But if it comes to a vote, I'll go. Under protest!"

"If it is such a blight, shouldn't it be better to erase it?" Kratos asks, looking off in the direction of the Ranch.

"..." Raine stares at him, as if trying to figure out his change in mood. "... Fine. Do as you wish. I suppose if we look at it another way, it does mean we can keep a close eye on her." Daichi grumbles darkly. Aurian makes an unhappy face.

"In any case, we're staying here for the night." Raine says. Kratos frowns.

"The inn is mostly in one piece. At least, it's got three walls, and most of the second floor." Sheena points out, ignoring Lloyd's hand in favor of standing on her own. Kratos makes to wander out of town, but Raine grabs one of his cape tails and halts him.

"You are sleeping. You are not going to go wander off and kill monsters." Kratos scowls at her, but she raises her staff threateningly. Lloyd looks worried for the second it takes for their stare down to end with Kratos making an annoyed noise and heading into town.

"If I don't get to, you don't." Daichi says, folding his arms. Kratos repeats his annoyed noise, wandering to start neatening houses.

"... He's angry." Sheena comments. "the Inn is this way." She's still sore, by the way she's walking, but she's walking without help. They neaten up the inside of the inn a bit, Sheena grimacing but moving something outside before anyone else could get a very good look. There's dark stains on the woodwork, which they do a good job at ignoring.

"So, big guy two. You've been in the Ranch?" Sheena asks of Daichi while testing formerly injured spots.

"I have a name, you know." Daichi comments gruffly. "Unless you want to be Miss Tittybojangles."

Sheena turns bright red. "Yo-ARGH!" she slaps Daichi.

Daichi has become adept at dodging things like that. "Not nice, is it." He smirks.

"Don't talk to me like that!" Sheena's still bright pink.

"Oh. Right." Lloyd looks up from the spot where they were making a fire. "That's Daichi. Genis, Raine, Kratos is off being angsty, Aurian, you know Colette, Shikka and Piers. I'm Lloyd."

"Why was I last in that description...?" Piers wonders aloud.

"I was going around the room... but Kratos is over that way, so..." Lloyd mutters, then gives up and starts cooking. When it becomes dark and Kratos hasn't wandered back, Raine shoves Lloyd out to go get him. Piers tags along, splashing blackened rubble to try and determine what it once was. Lloyd simply follows the sounds of shifting rubble, and eventually comes across half a dozen more or less crushed or beaten corpses.

"What?" Lloyd stops. Kratos stands from the ruins of a house, glancing over at them.

"What do you want?" he asks, moving to shift more.

Piers retches slightly. "Uuugh..." He looks ill.

"breathe through your mouth and move back." Kratos advises, as he shoulders aside a wall fragment and lifts another body from ten rubble.

"What are you doing?" Lloyd asks, a little horrified. Piers does so.

"Cleaning up." Kratos says shortly, lying this body in the row with the others, moving what was left of limbs to make them look a little more at rest. "It will start to reek. And will make rebuilding this city harder once they are rescued."

"... You think they're going to build here again?" Lloyd asks, watching as Kratos returns to the house and shoves things apart.

"Luin always rebuilds."

".. really?" Lloyd asks, watching, a bit green too.

"Luin was once called something else. Then it was destroyed. They rebuilt... and it was destroyed again. They changed the name to Luin... and it was destroyed and rebuilt again." Kratos says. "... You might notices that Luin... Ruin." he mixes the R and L sounds.

".. ah." Lloyd says. ".. Dinner's ready." He mutters.

"Cleber." Piers mumbles, holding his nose.

"Not hungry." Kratos says flatly.

"Raine will whack you." Lloyd points out.

"Don't care." Kratos retorts.

Piers sighs. "Can I have your share?"

"Go for it." Kratos mutters, shifting.

"... Raine will get Shikka and Daichi to tie you up and leave you here." Lloyd says, crossing his arms. Kratos freezes.

"They'll do it." Piers nods.

"... Fine." Lloyd grins. Kratos really doesn't look pleased with this, but he glances at the bodies. "I'll be back after I finish with them." He then starts gathering wood.

"... Ah.. Right." Lloyd seems a little surprised, but moves back to the Inn. Piers follows, glad to be away from the corpses.

"Where is he?" Raine asks, handing them each a bowl.

"He's.. taking care of dead." Lloyd says, a little green. "He said that Piers can have his food."

"... right." Raine frowns, taking that bowl to Piers as well. Piers eats whatever it is happily. After a little while of silent eating, there's a muted roar from outside, and a burst of orange light. Aurian jumps, while Lloyd blinks, staring off, and Genis frowns.

"That... was Eruption." Genis names the spell. Daichi starts walking off to investigate. He finds a well burning pyre, and Kratos's footprints going off toward the lake. The scent of burning bodies means nothing to the half-elf. He follows the footprints. Kratos's boots, all six of his belts, cape, sheild, armor and sword are sitting on the land, and the man himself is in the water, giving himself rough bath.

"Hello."

".... Hi." Daichi replies. "Just making sure you're okay."

Kratos shakes water from his hair. "I felt that smelling of lake would be preferable to the dead." he comes back to shore, shaking rather like a dog before gathering his dry things.

Daichi nods. "It's true."

"hn." he still smells like wood smoke, which he notices, but shrugs and leaves damp footprints all the way back to the inn.

"... Why are you wet?" Lloyd asks, curious.

"Why aren't you?" Kratos replies calmly.

"... cause I'm not." Lloyd says, frowning.

Lloyd is hit by a blast of water, Piers' voice saying. "You are now."

Lloyd yelps. "Ah!"

Kratos frowns. ".. I should have asked you. Now I smell like fouled lake." Kratos mutters, wringing his shirt while wearing it.

".. And smoke." Genis points out.

"Why didn't you just light the fire the normal way?" Raine asks. It was easy to tell that there was one by the glow.

"... heated corpses reek. burning corpses reek for less, but stronger." Kratos mutters. Piers smirks. Tensed to run if Lloyd should seek revenge. Lloyd does so, jumping for him. Kratos grabs a change of clothes and ducks out to change. Aurian's already in a twitching sleep, although it doesn't look like she's having nice dreams. Piers bolts, splashing Lloyd again. Lloyd yelps, but keeps chasing. Noishe stretches out before Piers, forelegs extended.

Piers yelps, tripping. "No fair, Noishe!"

"Haha!" Lloyd jumps on Piers, and proceeds to shake most of his water off on him.

Piers flails. "Eeew!" Kratos returns, and spots them like this.

"...." he goes back into the inn.

"We should go to bed." Lloyd says, sitting on Piers. "it's going to be... bad, soon. If what Daichi and Sheena said, and Aurian's reactions.."

"Yeah. Now gerroff me!"

"Right." Lloyd does so, then offers his hand to Piers. Piers takes it, pulling Lloyd down and sitting on him. "Heeey." Lloyd grumbles, frowning up at him.

"Karma's a bitch." Piers replies.

"I don't see what female dogs have to do with anything." Lloyd says, frowning. Piers face palms at the inexperience. Lloyd shoves at him. "lemme go. You're gunna make it hard to breathe." Piers does so and offers his hand, making a precaution against a revenge pull. Lloyd takes it, and almost looks like he was thinking about doing such a revenge pull, then yawns and just gets to his feet. "Tired." he says, and walks back to the half destroyed inn. Piers follows, flopping onto his bedroll, yawning. Kratos has propped himself up against a wall, Aurian's sleeping fitfully, Genis is using the Alchemy book as a pillow, and Colette is all nice and neat asleep. Sheena's also propped against the wall, Lloyd's slowly falling to sleep, and Raine's watching them all for a bit from her own roll. Daichi is staring at the sky through a hole in the ceiling. Piers drifts and Shikka is purring lightly as he sleeps. Noishe wanders over and curls up half over Aurian. Surprisingly, it helps calm her. Raine sighs, and goes to sleep herself. Daichi eventually drifts off too.

* * *

November 18th

* * *

They're hiding in the trees. While Aurian had returned to one ranch with minimal trembling, she was very clearly terrified of this ranch. The security of this one is far better than Magnius's, and Kratos is almost ... happy to be there, by the light to his eyes. Daichi grimaces, and swallows a couple of his 'pain killers'.

"The security is intense." Genis mutters, absently twirling his Kendama. "It's completely different from last time."

"Apparently, this is a high-security research facility, too." Daichi mumbles.

"Torture." Aurian whispers. "That's what he likes." Kratos is watching Desians.

"Yea." Lloyd mutters. "Even if we get inside..."

"Hmmm... There is a way though..." Raine mutters, and Lloyd grins.

"Professor, I bet you're thinking the same thing I'm thinking." Lloyd says, watching Desians now as well. Piers blinks, looking at the Desians, smirking. As does Shikka.

Daichi has missed this. "Huh."

Colette too. "What? What are we going to do?"

"We'll disguise ourselves ad Desians and sneak in." Lloyd says, thrilled with the idea.

"...I see the gears in your head move quickly only at times like this." Raine comments.

"....What's that supposed to mean?" Lloyd asks.

"It means you only think when you're in danger." Piers notes.

"Oh, I see!" Colette cheers. "If we look like Desians, we won't get caught!"

Sheena looks mildly approving. "Well, well. That's quite a daring plan."

"I don't think it's the best plan we could have, but do we have any other choice?"

"Cut our way in." Kratos mutters, drawing his long sword.

"With all that security, that would be foolish." Daichi remarks.

Kratos gives him a look. "There's a Desian patrol right over there." He indicates with the point of his blade. "What shall we do?" he's already starting to move to go kill them all.

"Let's do it. Steal their uniforms, I mean." Sheena says.

"Yeah." Colette agrees.

"Would be a good idea." Piers states. Kratos mutters to himself, but circles around to neatly slice into the Desian nearest. Lloyd jumps out, drawing his blades into another. Daichi hangs back, hidden, removing his over clothes, revealing the Desian uniform below. He smiles slightly. Aurian jumps into help, her glaive flashing in and about. The Desians... don't know what hit them.

Daichi rejoins the others. "I found a guy who was my size. What d'ya think? Do I suit it?" He poses. Aurian stares at him blankly. Lloyd snickers, Kratos doesn't even glance as he starts taking the uniforms. "You alright?" He asks, a note of concern in his voice. This does not match his appearance. It's weird. He is asking Aurian.

"My head hurts." she mutters, finally looking away. Kratos doesn't seem to care that he'd just stripped a pair of female Desians, standing with the uniforms over one arm.

"Well. We got some Desettes." Piers comments. Lloyd looks blankly at him.

"Let's go back down to the camp. We can wash them up." Raine says, taking the uniforms from Kratos. Kratos nods, but looks like he still wants to go back and kill some more. Lloyd cleans his blades, then passes his cloth to Aurian, who cleans her glaive. She's gone back to occasionally staring at Daichi.

"What about everyone else?" Daichi points out.

"Prisoners." Raine shrugs. Aurian makes an unhappy noise. Kratos frowns.

Daichi smirks. "I can go with that." Raine sets goes to clean up the uniforms with Sheena, while Colette makes stew. Aurian looks unhappy. Kratos is frowning.

Daichi sighs, walking over to Aurian. "Don't worry. You'll be fine." Aurian flinches for a second, before she tries to smile like she wasn't. She sits hunched up.

"Don't... like... the armor." She mutters.

"I know. But it's necessary."

"really don't like." she mutters. "Head hurts now." she rubs at it, and jumps when Raine and Sheena come back, wearing the armor.

Daichi goes over to them. "Huh. Looks like I'm the same rank as Raine. We nailed a captain."

"Two." Lloyd says, getting bowls out. "So, when we going in?"

"After we eat." Raine says, shifting the uniform. "These are uncomfortable."

"Tell me about it. Just have to get used to it." Daichi comments. Raine mutters about him not having parts of his fortunately non-existent breasts showing, but takes her bowl without another comment. Kratos is frowning at his hands, then the bowl that Lloyd pushes into them. Daichi smirks, sitting by Aurian, watching her warily. "You gonna be okay when we get into character?"

Aurian makes a little tiny noise. "Don't wanna. But dun wanna stay out here. Have ta be, yeah?" she eats slowly. Raine and Sheena are discussing how exactly they'll be getting in. They decided to use Lloyd as their main catch, since he is 'wanted criminal #0074' or some such thing.

Daichi hugs Aurian to him. "You'll be fine. If you want, you can be a passed out prisoner and I'll carry ya." Aurian squeaks.

Genis gives Daichi a wired look. "What are you doing?" Aurian looks severely confused.

"Trying to get her used to the armor." Aurian squeaks again.

"I think you're confusing her more than anything." Genis points out. Kratos is watching with mild amusement, a tiny smirk on his face. Daichi lets go of her, shooting a glare of _'what are you smirkin' at'_ at Kratos. The armor adds _'inferior being'_ at the end. Kratos raises an eyebrow in response, but says nothing. He's apparently too amused to do so. Aurian goes back to where she'd been sitting, and hesitantly starts eating again. Lloyd's scraping out the bottom of the pot, and finishing that. Daichi fishes a helm from his bag, putting it on, finishing the ensemble. Now Aurian stares at him with a sort of horror. She makes a different sort of squeak, and scurries off to sit behind Kratos. Kratos glances at her, and his amusement is back, with this sort of sad hint to it.

He quickly removes the helm. "Gah... It's hard to get used to a uniform with someone squeaking in terror all the time." Kratos looks like he was going to make a comment then changed his mind. He gets up, and takes the empty bowls to clean them. Lloyd finishes his bowl, and seems to have missed that all.

"What's up with poofy-head?" Daichi mumbles to Lloyd.

Lloyd mouths 'poofy head' back with a mildly confused expression, then grins. "that's funny. 'poofy head'." he shrugs. "Maybe he didn't want to say something in front of all of us." Daichi grunts. Piers seems disgruntled that he has to be a prisoner. Aurian, losing her previous hiding spot, goes and hides behind Piers. Colette comes over and chats about pretty much anything that comes to mind at Aurian.

"We all ready?" Raine asks, holding a helm. Sheena looks more comfortable in the uniform than Raine does. Kratos returns, and the rest of them stand. Lloyd binds his own wrists before him, a way that looked secure, but he could get out of easily. He helps Colette and Genis with theirs. Kratos, watching, scowls. after a moment, he heads over to Daichi, and offers his own wrists. Daichi attempts to tie the merc's wrists so he can break free. However, with all those years of prisoner-taking, he has difficulty. Piers and Shikka help each other.

"Either do it well, or don't bother." Kratos says. It's not quite a growl, but was a little close. "I can cast with my hands bound, if worse comes to worse." inflection says that he wouldn't mind having to blow up Desians. Lloyd offers to help Aurian. Daichi ends up tying up the man's hands in prisoner grade, muttering some rather dark phrases. Kratos pretends not to hear him. He jerks on the bonds, and looks pleased that they don't come undone. Lloyd loosely wraps rope about Aurian's wrists, and gets her to hold on to the ends. She'll probably be the most convincing just by the way she was trembling already.

"All set?" Raine asks. Varying noises of 'yes' with silence from Kratos and another squeak from Aurian.

"Who leads?" Daichi asks, looking at the assortment.

"I will." Raine says, slipping a helm on. "Lloyd behind me. The rest can stand any way they please." Lloyd frowns, but does so. Aurian is attempting to hide behind Shikka. Colette just stands serenely next to Genis. Daichi assumes post at the rear. Shikka frowns back at Aurian. She blinks at him, but doesn't move from trying to hide. Sheena joins Daichi at the back, and they make ready to move off.

Daichi draws his axe, clearing his throat. "I hope I won't have to hit you lot much." Aurian squeaks, and moves further up in the line. Kratos pretends he heard nothing, and walks behind Colette. Piers mumbles something about drowning the first person to hit him.

"enough." Raine says. "We're almost there. Act like prisoners." Lloyd scowls, Kratos takes the same expression. Aurian squeaks, and hunches her shoulders, while Genis tries to look like a scared child. Colette attempts to look frightened, or angry, and can't manage anything but sad. Piers just looks sullen. Shikka looks like a prisoner. Probably the only one that does so. They go into the ranch. Around them walk Desians, their lower-half-faces showing varying states of age, and Elven blood by lack of facial hair. Kratos seems to be getting a little agitated, glaring at the Desians about them. A handful make the 'look at the human! thinks it's tough' kinda remarks, while some of the more grizzled ones take a look at him, simply continue on. They're almost ignored. Daichi recognizes some of their faces, thanking all mercy that his face is hidden.

"Stop!" they were stopped just before entering the main building itself.

"We've done it!" Raine says.

Daichi pushes Lloyd forward. "Lloyd Irving." He says, presenting Lloyd mockingly.

"What?" His partner goes over to take a look at Lloyd. This is by grabbing his chin and checking his face. Lloyd frowns at him. And the guard lets him go. "Good work! And you've even caught him alive!"

"I want to turn him over to the Five Grand Cardinals immediately. Let me though." Raine says.

Daichi growls lightly as the lead guard begins to say something. "Let us through or you'll be sorry."

"We'll let the crazy one loose on you." Sheena says, indicating Kratos. Kratos glares at her, and jerks against the bindings.

"Yeah. This fella gave me a run for my money." Daichi states, folding his arms. Kratos snarls this time, glaring at the guards.

"u-understood. Go on in!"

"And keep a hold of him." the other says. Raine nods, and starts the way in.

Daichi shoves Lloyd forward. "Get moving." They pass the guards, and continue into the base. They reach the control room. Raine decides not to take off the uniform just then. Lloyd undoes his bonds, as he looks through windows.

Daichi groans, yawning, stretching. "Glad that's over with." Lloyd is staring out the window of said control room. Raine, after putting her orange coat over the uniform, goes to take a look.

"It looks like this is an Exsphere manufacturing plant." Kratos is attempting to get out of the bindings without help.

"... So it would seem.." His voice isn't angry anymore.

"These are all Exspheres?" Lloyd asks. "incredible." The conveyer belt comes from out of sight. Daichi shifts lightly. He looks about. Aurian isn't looking out the window, sitting with her knees under her chin on the floor. Genis goes over to look as Kratos starts moving for something sharp or reflective so he can try getting free. Daichi walks forward, cutting the bonds. Kratos catches the rope. He looks at it, and then nods once to Daichi. He starts looking at machines.

"I.. think I hear voices coming from the next room.." Colette says, turning for it. Piers summons his staff, ready.

"I don't hear anything..." Genis mutters.

"Be careful anyway.." Lloyd says, reaching for both his blades. Kratos slowly moves to the door as Raine turns with Sheena. The door opens, and a familiar robed man and with two Desians come in.

Daichi tenses. "Aw, crap..."

"Hm?!" Botta looks at them. "You!"

"Uh-oh.." Lloyd mutters. "These are the Desians from Triet!"

"They still think we're Desians." One soldier sniggers.

"Sir! this is the perfect chance!" the other says, eyeing Lloyd and Colette.

".... Are you looking for a fight...?" Kratos asks. There's a smirk trying to form, but he's squishing it.

"If they are, they picked the wrong time." Piers growls, his staff sparking.

"Wait." Botta throws up his hand before his soldiers. "Kratos is with them. We'll retreat for now."

Lloyd raises his eyebrows, glancing at Kratos. "You know each other?"

"I suppose, if you mean the fact we ran into them at Iselia and Triet." Kratos says.

"I think it would be in both our interests not to fight here." Botta says.

"Do what you will." Kratos says. His smirk has vanished. Botta and his two soldiers dash through the room. Lloyd turns to follow, and naturally Colette and Genis as well. Kratos grimaces, and follows. A third door from the one they had entered opens. Botta and his two vanish to the entrance, as a handful of Desians enter from the other door, two with spells casting. Fire Ball flies out. Piers rounds on the Desians.

"Shadowa!" Dark shadows envelope the Desians. Lloyd yelps, and forgets to Guardian as Desians stagger, stumble, and fall over, a set of Fireballs streaking for the party. Colette covers for him as Kratos Guardians.

"Colette, Kratos!"

"Aqua Edge!" Daichi yells, throwing the water spell at the fireballs, throwing up his own Guardian just in case. Piers is concentrating on making the shadows attack and mind-rape the Desians. The fireballs vanish. More Desians show up. Mind rape doesn't work as well as it should.

"I'm ok!" Colette chirps.

"No time for that, look behind you!" Barely controlled rage is Kratos's voice as he glares at the newcomer.

"Well, this is a surprise." Aurian squeaks in terror. "When I heard we had some rats, I assumed it was the Renegade, Botta, but instead I find the wanted inferior beings..."

"Oh, shit. We're in it now..." Daichi mumbles.

"But I must say, I'm quite impressed that lesser creatures such as your selves are still alive after that attack." he had platinum blond hair, and red eyes with black 'whites' squinted nearly shut as a generic sneer stayed on his face as he looked over the party.

"Who are you?!" Lloyd snaps. Aurian is making small fearful noises. The man moves closer to Lloyd, something that Kratos doesn't like by the look on his face.

"This is Lord Kvar..." Daichi mumbles.

Kvar's eyes flick over to Daichi. "Oh, yes, I do believe I know you. I'm surprised none of the others have called you on the color of your armor yet, Daichi Misawa. I must say I didn't think I'd see you again after Forcystus let you go." Aurian gives a wail. "Oh, shut up." she does so. Daichi glances at Aurian, sighing.

"My lord." He says, mockingly.

Kvar nods as if graciously accepting the comment that was his due. "I'm surprised you keep the elf. She's worthless, as she is now. I do have to wonder just how old she is. Hasn't changed much from the day I captured her, nearly 120 years ago." Aurian stifles more fearful noises, but she's staring at Daichi now.

Daichi shifts lightly, feeling her stare. "She ain't worthless, you pasty skinned freak." Daichi retorts.

Kvar raises his eyebrows. "She can barely fight, and I'd be willing to bet she remembers little, if no, magic. I've already broken her, little remains of the elf I caught. She can't even undo a simple enchantment." A small bolt of lightning knocks Aurian on her back, but doesn't seem to do any damage. Lloyd makes an annoyed noise, irritated with the talk and lack of action. Kvar's eyes flash to him, then his left hand. "Of course, there are other things of greater interest to your group." he almost sounds delighted.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Piers states.

"Like my Angelus Project... of doom." Kvar says, eyes on Lloyd's left hand. Lloyd snarls. "Seize the human boy!" More Desians show up. Colette throws her Chakrams at Kvar, who dodges.

"No way in hell! Good job, Colette! Let's go!" Lloyd dashes through the door that Botta had left, Aurian on his heels. Kratos looks torn between following Colette, and taking out Desians. Piers summons an ice wall to buy them some time, chasing after the others. Daichi growls, running after him. Shikka on his tail. Kratos doesn't look thrilled when he catches up, Raine, Genis and Sheena before him. They're in the factory part, and now they can see the part where the conveyor belts come from. Humans, chained to a conveyer belt of their own, go in, and Exspheres come out. The walls were noticeably black rather than the off-white or grey of the rest of the ranch.

"Wh..what is this?!" Lloyd shouts, staring in horror. He could tell that death was happening in massive amounts behind that wall right there. Where humans went in, and Exspheres came out.

"That's the Exsphere production chamber... Of doom." Daichi mumbles. "Kvar was never good at names."

"Black room." Aurian whispers fearfully.

"Yes, yes, whatever." Kvar sounded annoyed. "It's where the Exspheres are removed from the host bodies." They turn around, and Kvar's there, with a nice sized squad of Desians. Behind them, is a gap in the floor a nice 20 some feet across, to the glass-walled conveyer where the humans went in.

"Do you mean to say Exspheres are made from... human bodies?" Raine asks.

Kvar pretends to be surprised. "Oh, Forcystus's old captain hasn't told you? But no. Exsphere's are dormant at first. They extract nourishment from humans to grow and awaken. Human ranches are Exsphere manufacturing plants...of doom. Why else would we spend our time raising and taking care of these inferior beings?"

Daichi shifts. "This guy is making me look worse and worse."

"That's terrible!" Genis says, as he realizes what this implies Aurian had gone through.

"Terrible?" Kvar says, amused. "Terrible is what you've done. Stealing and using Exspheres that we've invested so much time and care in creating. You deserve to be punished." the Desians seem to be gathering from all over the ranch right behind Kvar.

"damn!" Lloyd almost snarls. "We're surrounded."

"We gotta run. We can't win." Piers states.

"Lloyd, your Exsphere was to be an offering to Lord Yggdrasill. It's time you gave it back." Kvar continues.

"Run where?" Genis points out.

"Yggdrasill, I suppose that's the name of your leader." Raine says.

"Yes. Now, for the sake of our great leader, Lord Yggdrasill, and for the sake of my own success, I need that Exsphere! ... Of doom." Lloyd turns so his left side is back, fisting his hands.

"Again?!" Lloyd snaps. "What's so special about my Exsphere?!"

"Maybe it's shiny?" Piers points out.

Lloyd blinks. "Well, it is a different color..."(1)

"That is the result of years of time-consuming research. I can finally reclaim what was stolen by that filthy female host body." Kratos seems to be getting angrier and angrier with everything Kvar says.

"What are you talking about? The female host body? You're not talking about..." Lloyd's starting to piece things together. and he doesn't like the picture.

"...hmm, you don't know anything, do you?" Kvar sounds like it's a shame, before he shrugs. "Of course I am. That Exsphere was cultured on host body A012, human name, Anna - Your mother. She took it and escaped from the facility... of doom. Of course, she paid for her crime with her life." Lloyd's getting angry now too.

"You! You killed my.." Lloyd's anger is choking him.

"Now, now, don't blame me." Kvar is nearly laughing. "I'm not the one that killed Anna. Your father did."

"Liar!" Lloyd draws a blade.

"Please." Kvar asks for a higher power's protection from idiots. "When her Key Crest-less Exsphere was removed, Anna turned into a monster.... and your father killed her. Pathetic, don't you think?"

"Don't you mean monster _of doom_?" Daichi points out. Kvar glares at Daichi. Kratos is trembling... with rage.

"Do not speak ill of the dead!" Kratos snarls, drawing his blade and lunging for Kvar. Lloyd blinks, startled. Kvar twists aside, and lets a poor Desian take the attack, casting a lightning spell that knocks the mercenary back into the party, and fries a an unfortunate pair of his men.

"Hahahaha!" Kvar cackles. "Who cares? They were just a couple of filthy humans - worthless maggots." Kratos is getting back to his feet, and is looking at the Desians now, although his attention does return to Kvar.

"Maggots _of doom_?" Piers asks. Kvar makes an annoyed noise, stamping a foot. Kratos takes this as a good time to try to claim Kvar's head again, and lunges forward. the Cardinal's Scepter is apparently very durable, because he catches Kratos's swing on it and then throws the man off.

"..Don't you ever talk about my parents like that!" Lloyd shouts.

"Aqua Edge!" Daichi yells, hoping to distract the Cardinal. Distract it does when it explodes from a Lightning Strikes he uses to knock back Kratos.

"I'll handle this!" Sheena shouts, seals rustling through the air about her as she picks one out. "..I'm gunna use the last one, Grandpa." she whispers, before thrusting the card out. One of her critters, Guardians, shows up. Kratos is up again, and heading for Kvar as Desians start pressing closer.

"Shadowa... _Of doom_!" Shadows assault the Desians for about 10 seconds. Kvar makes a noise of annoyed rage.

"Someone grab him!" Sheena shouts, holding her hands in a seal of possibly ninja design. "I can't warp people out if they aren't close!" Kratos is ignoring this, cutting Desians down on his way to Kvar. Lloyd is keeping them at bay, and Aurian has crowded in close near Sheena with Genis.

Daichi runs, grabbing Kratos. "C'mon. Before your hit with lightning _of doom_." Kratos struggles to continue going forward, snarling silently as he can't get free without purposefully trying to hit Daichi, or dropping his sword and then trying to get free. Neither are things he currently wants to do. Sheena's Guardians warps them out of the Ranch, and into the forest where they had ambushed the Desians earlier that day... in a cloud of smoke. Daichi lets go of Kratos, stumbling back against a tree.

Kratos spins around, his expression one of anger. "Why did you stop me?! I wanted to kill him!" Most of the rest of the party stares at him in a bit of shock. Kratos doesn't scream at people. Aurian is scooting to the other side of camp from Daichi.

"We had to get outta there. And no matter how much of an angsty prick you are, I don't wanna see you dead!" Daichi retorts. "I'm sick of death!" This shuts Kratos up. he blinks a couple times.

"...." The rest of the party is silent as well. After a moment, Kratos just turns, and starts cleaning his blade on foliage. insert Awkward Silence here.

"When I said that you were the crazy one, I didn't realize I had it right." Sheena says, startled.

".. we should return to our camp." Raine says. Daichi looks very touchy at the moment.

Lloyd's frowning at his hand, then at Kratos's back. ".. Say... Did you know my parents?" Kratos almost trips. Lloyd catches up with Kratos. "You got really pissed off when he was talking about him. So, y'know, curious."

"...yes." It was very faint, but Lloyd caught it.

"Really?! Do you know where my dad is? What's he like? What's he doing?" Lloyd asks.

"... I believe... he's watching over you best he can..." Kratos says it slowly.

"Despite you being an idiot... Of doooom." Piers mimics Kvar.

Lloyd makes a face, and then blinks at what Kratos had said. "You think he's dead." Lloyd accuses.

"I have not heard of him after 14 years ago." Kratos says.

"So.. what you knew them." Lloyd wants to check.

"Yes."

"What was Mom like?" Kratos just stares at Lloyd like he was hoping he was dreaming. "You knew them, you can tell me what you remember. Cause I don't remember anything." Lloyd prods him.

"She made excellent brownies." It comes out like Kratos was fishing for something to say.

Piers looks at Lloyd. "I like your mom."

Lloyd's grinning. "What else? What else?"

"You definitely got your enthusiasm from her." Kratos mutters, looking away. "And a good chunk of the stubborn. Her hair and eyes, were a more chocolate brown."

"More!" Lloyd says.

"Her temper was worse than yours." Kratos points out. "But she hid it by being sweet until her target was off guard, and then gave them hell in the ways it was hard to avoid." Raine smacks him. "... She did that too, when you were in the room."

"... Why don't I remember you, then?" Lloyd frowns.

"... Because Noishe kept your attentions well." They had reached the camp. Daichi looks sullen, staying about 10 paces back from the main group. Aurian is keeping the majority of the party between her and Daichi. Genis is drawn for dinner.

"..." Most of Lloyd's enthusiasm wears off once Kratos made his escape, and he's back to staring at his left hand.

"... I can't believe Exspheres are made from human lives..." Sheena mutters what had basically been on everyone's mind. Daichi sits away from the group, against the tree, clearly wanting to be alone. Fat chance.

"this is Marble's life..." Genis is also staring at his hand.

"Arrgh!" Lloyd screams, his right hand moving to cover his left, where his Exsphere shines. "this... thing!"

"Lloyd, wait." Colette grabs his arm. "What will you accomplish by taking that off? It's not just an Exsphere, it's also your mother's life, remember?" Daichi removes his own Exsphere from the back of his neck, watching it glint.

"But these things make a mockery of human life." Lloyd says, but his hand drops anyway.

"But we would have lost long ago had we not had them." Kratos says.

Lloyd turns to him. "Don't you think I know that?!"

"Do you really?" Kratos asks, tilting his head. "If you throw away that Exsphere now, do you think you can finish this journey?" Daichi sighs, listening in, back to the part. Lloyd looks at his hand again.

"...yeah. I know. Without these things, we're just a bunch of weak humans. We can fight because we have these. I know that..." Lloyd trails off, and then glares at Kratos again. "But Exspheres exist as a result of taking someone's life!"

"And?" Lloyd recoils as if slapped. "Those people didn't become victims because they wanted to, but I doubt they would want to be thrown away after being turned into Exspheres." Kratos continues. Aurian sits off to one side, her head on her knees.

"My opinion may not matter much because I don't use an Exsphere, but I believe the Desians will defeat us if we throw away our Exspheres now." Colette says.

"...I'm not throwing mine away. I value it too much..." Daichi mumbles.

"And if we lose to the Desians, more people will lose their lives to these stones. I don't want that to happen. I don't want this journey to be meaningless." Colette continues.

"Colette is right. We can throw away the Exspheres at any time. But right now, we must carry the weight of the hopes and dreams of those victims and fight for their sake, as well as ours." Kratos says, crossing his arms. "Didn't you say you weren't going to hesitate anymore?" Kratos asks.

"I just can't... I know you're right, but.." Lloyd grips his head. "But right now... Let me think by myself for a while, okay?" Lloyd dashes off. Daichi watches, getting to his feet, wandering after the teen, giving time. Kratos moves out of camp as well. Genis sighs, and starts cooking. Aurian seems to have fallen asleep as she sat there. Daichi stands a few feet away from Lloyd, watching.

Lloyd's muttering to his Exsphere, addressing it as Mom. "Mom... did you suffer... when this thing took your life?" it flickers at him. Daichi stands by him, saying nothing. Lloyd says nothing for a while, tracing the carved runes in the Key Crest. "You knew, the whole time."

"Yup." Daichi replies, simply.

"Just like we knew you were a Desian, but didn't tell Aurian." Lloyd says, tracing runes still. "... Is that why you went all white when we found her?"

"I guarded her when she was at Forcystus' ranch."

"ah." Lloyd says. "... Think she remembers?"

"I think so."

"You're screwed." Lloyd says cheerfully. "Hope she doesn't know too much magic." Daichi sits, sighing. Lloyd sits there, staring at his Exsphere for a while. "... Does that have anything to do with your 'sick of death' thing?"

"Yeah. Kinda."

"huh." Lloyd says, leaning forward to put his elbows on his knees and chin in hands. "..." He rubs the back of his neck, the red gem glinting. "Do they come in different colors?" Lloyd asks slowly. "Cause Genis's, Raines, and Kratos's are blue.... and mine's kinda purple, but that Kvar guy was saying it's a special project... Don't know what color Aurian's is.."

"Depends on the person who hosted it..."

"Really? Cause if that's the case; mine should be blue... because that'd be with most the humans, right?"

"Maybe your mother was different?"

"Dunno. I can't use magic, which means I don't have Elven blood..." Lloyd thinks. "Maybe Kratos knows."

"Maybe..."

"Oh. What's 'Angsty'?"

The man smirks. "You know your mood swings?"

"When I go from being angry, to depressed, or happy, or something? yeah. What's that got to do with Angsty?"

"The angst is that."

"Angst is mood swings? Then doesn't that mean everyone is 'angsty'?" Lloyd frowns, confused.

"Yep. Everyone."

"Then why'd you call Kratos an 'angsty prick'? Cause if everyone is 'angsty', you could have just called him an 'ordinary prick', or a 'normal prick'."

He sighs. "Eh."

"... so what's prick mean?"

"Forget that term unless you want Raine to whack ya."

"Oh." Lloyd was not gunna forget that one. He just wouldn't say it...

Daichi flops onto his back. "I've done some godawful things."

"nn." Lloyd says. He's back to tracing the runes. "According to the Desians, apparently I have too."

"You? Tame compared to me. I was Forcystus' torturer."

"Oh." Lloyd shuts up, tracing runes. _That_ was something he didn't really want to go into. "Hey. Daichi. Do Desians have families? Or are they all like, single or something."

"Of course we do!"

"Then why hurt all the humans? They have families too." Lloyd mutters. "Even if you lost family to them, you'd be doing the same to people who you never knew, never knew if they didn't like half-elves..."

"Why do you victimize all half-elves?"

"Victi-whatsit?"

"Treat us all the same. Hate us?"

"I hate Desians, because they killed my parents." Lloyd says firmly. "I don't hate Harley just because he's a half elf. Even if most Desians are half-elves. There are bad, and good half elves. Like there are good and bad humans."

"Well... I dunno. Maybe I was sick of being attacked and scorned by humans..."

"Maybe I'm the weird one." Lloyd says, grinning. "I'm the one raised by a dwarf."

"Yeah? I had to raise myself."

"that'd suck." Lloyd admits. Daichi chuckles, shaking his head, still staring at the sky. "... Shield's bright." Lloyd mutters. Soft footsteps from behind, and Kratos silently joins them. Daichi glances up.(2)

"Well, I better get back." Daichi stands, turning to wander off. Lloyd watches him go, then looks at Kratos. Kratos leans against the single tree for a moment, remaining silent. Lloyd watches Kratos, and finally the mercenary speaks.

"How would you feel?"

"...what?" Lloyd wonders if the man is talking about the Half-Elven discussion, or Exspheres.

"If you lost your life to an Exsphere, what would you want done with yourself?" Kratos clarifies, still looking not-at-Lloyd.

"I..." Lloyd thinks this is a very hard question.

"...If it were me, I'd want to be useful to someone with the will to break this tragic cycle. Then..." Kratos's voice drops. "perhaps I could atone for some of my sins." Lloyd catches onto that last bit best.

"Your sins?" Lloyd asks. Kratos looks like he hadn't realized that he'd said that out loud. "Like what...?"

"...That's not important." Kratos says quickly. "What is important is your decision about Exspheres." Kratos turns and returns to camp. Raine has knocked Aurian over, into her bedroll, and just covered her with it, trying not to give into the urge to investigate her ears, which twitch every so often. Daichi is sleeping against a tree and Piers is playing solitaire. Lloyd returns in a few minutes, looking like he'd put his mind through a cheese grater. He flops onto his bedroll without a word. Kratos moves to the edge of camp, and sits facing out.

* * *

November 20th

* * *

Lloyd wakes, and starts prodding the fire up after downing a cup of the coffee that Kratos likes making. Shikka is playing with pebbles and Daichi has 'borrowed' a book from Piers.

"Omelets." Lloyd announces, getting the pan and ingredients out, before he starts to cook. Daichi is still in his armor, having not changed from the night before. Aurian wakes up as Lloyd goes to find some more ingredients from Genis's pack. She spots Daichi, and freezes for a moment, before getting up, running over to grab the pan, and swing it breakfast first to his face. Daichi yelps, his head going back into the tree, knocking the man out. Aurian moves to smack him again, but Colette grabs her, which leads to Genis grabbing her, and Lloyd joins in. Kratos snatches the frying pan. Aurian's a little incoherent, but what she does say tells the others that she very much remembers Daichi, and isn't happy with it.

"Agh... Ow." Kratos returns to the fire to clean the frying pan by searing the interior, while Raine and Sheena grab onto Aurian as well, and pull her back. She'd tried to hit him when he woke up. Daichi starts to move. "Ooh... Ow... What the hell?" Kratos indicates Aurian with the frying pan. Lloyd nods.

"Just about that. You've got egg on your face." Aurian was picked up, moved to the other side of camp, and sat upon by Raine.

Daichi wipes his face. "I guess she remembers."

"What gave you the first clue?" Genis asks. "the frying pan, or the screaming?" Daichi grunts in reply. Aurian yelps. Raine had smacked her upside the head with her staff. she looks sulky now, but stays put without Raine sitting on her. Daichi watches her with something akin to sorrow. He sighs. Kratos is regarding them over his cooking with something like pity. It vanishes quickly as he shakes his head and focuses on the omelets again.

"Lloyd. Plates." Lloyd blinks, and gets them. Kratos dumps an omelet into it, and indicates Lloyd should pass it to someone. Daichi looks away, deep in thought. Lloyd finds Piers and offers him the omelet.

Piers is playing with puddles. "Thanks."

"No problem. Thought Aurian'd throw it at Daichi or something..." Lloyd mutters about wasting food and gives out the next omelet. Raine is holding Aurian's glaive, and Aurian definitely seems to be sulking. She's pointedly not looking in Daichi's direction. Shikka pokes her with a stick. Aurian scowls at him, her long ears pressed to her head like an angry cat. She swats at the stick.

"Wassamatta?"

Aurian glares at Shikka for a moment before answering. "I don't like Daichi." She says, slowly. "Might have been nicer of the two, but he hurt me. A lot." she shifts a little, crossing her arms. "Not sure if I want to hurt him back, or just outright kill him. I'm liking the first one better. But Raine says no."

"I'm sure he'd let you do both. He looks sorry."

"But Raine says no." Aurian looks really confused. "And Colette agrees Raine... and so does Genis, and Sheena, and Lloyd."

"So do I. Violence begets more violence. It's pointless."

"But I didn't do anything to him first!" Aurian mutters, holding her head. Lloyd comes by with an omelet to offer Shikka. "I didn't call him mean names, or insult his mother, or a girl he liked..."

"As bad as this sounds... He was, well, doing his job." Aurian frowns.

"... Jobs are stupid." She comes to this conclusion, and crosses her arms. Her ears flick, and tilt down to her shoulders.

"He seems sorry."

"And Kvar _seemed_ nice." Aurian says with a shudder. "Told me he'd get me out if I taught him magic." she shut up, curling in again. Her ears trembled.

"Asshole." Lloyd provided his opinion of Kvar as he returned with an omelet for Aurian. Shikka watches a depressed Daichi. The man refused food, stating that he was not hungry. Aurian, after eating a good chunk of her omelet, is confused by his silence and looks where he's watching.

"I bet there's people out there who hate Kratos because of things he's done on a job... then hired him later because they needed help." Lloyd offers. Kratos frowns at Lloyd for bringing him into this conversation. Aurian looks uncomfortable. Daichi seems emotionless.

Shikka frowns. "Something wrong with him..."

"You can go poke _him_ with a stick." Aurian offers.

"I don't think that works."

"Then why'd ya poke me?" Aurian looks confused.

"You responded."

"And how do ya know _he_ won't? You haven't poked him yet."

"He seems too far gone."

"I could hit him with the frying pan again." Aurian offers wistfully.

Raine smacks her. "No." Something splashes Daichi. He splutters, locking eyes with Piers. He runs. Daichi gets to his feet.

"Get back here, ya little punk!" He chases.

Lloyd grins. "That works better. And you won't ruin an omelet." he goes to get one. Kratos gives control of the pan to Lloyd, and takes his own omelet to go steal Lloyd's seat. Daichi catches up with Piers and now has him in a headlock.

"Say uncle!"

Piers thrashes about. "Never!" Lloyd finishes a quick omelet, and then grins at Genis.

Both sneakily get up to jump on Daichi, screaming "FREE PIERS!" Daichi yelps, managing to join Genis with Piers, now attempting to wrestle Lloyd.

"... Do you think him evil?" Kratos asks Aurian, softly, as Colette goes to join in. Her Angelic Strength is a little funny to witness. "Often, people take distasteful jobs because they have no other choice." Aurian makes a noncommittal noise, turning back to her food. "Did you hear how he joined us? He was cast out, for trying to free a prisoner." Daichi yelps, thrown to the ground by the young girl, laughing, letting go of the two teens. Aurian makes another squeak-ish-noise. Noishe wants to get in on the fun, and jumps on Daichi. Daichi tries to wrestle the dog off him. "Perhaps you should save your hatred for those who told him what to do." Kratos offers. "The Cardinals." Aurian looks uncomfortable. ".. Are you going to finish that?" Despite the abrupt change in topic, Aurian shakes her head, and Kratos shrugs, taking the plates and starting clean up. Aurian looks to be thinking.

Daichi manages to get atop the dog, again with a headlock, noogie-ing the animal. "Pounce on me, willya?" Noishe protests this with whines and yelps. Lloyd is laughing, because apparently he understands this.

"He's said uncle!" Lloyd gasps out.

"Damn straight he has." Daichi frees the dog, laughing. Noishe whines in injured pride, before stalking off like a cat, tail and nose high in the air. "Come back when ya wanna try again!" Daichi calls after the animal. He glances to Aurian, his mood draining like water down a drain. Aurian looks like she's thinking hard. She reaches into her pack, and produces an apple. She offers it to him.

He looks at it. "Does this mean I'm semi-forgiven? Or is this poisoned."

"Why'd I poison food? Might eat it later and forget." Aurian asks, plainly confused with that. "But you hurt me again, I'll get you."

"Even by accident?"

"..." Aurian has to think hard on this. "... If ya can prove it was accident.... I'll just hit your shoulder." She announces. He rolls his eyes at this. "Fine, if you don't want it..." Aurian mutters.

"No, no. I do. I just think that you might put it to better use."

"Huh?" Aurian thinks, looking at the apple. "Like pie?!"

"I'm just not hungry."

"Oh." Aurian stares at her apple for a second, and then looks for Daichi's pack. She shoves the apple in it, and looks proud of herself.

Kratos looks amused again. "We should be going." he points out.

* * *

We butchered Kvar's evilness. It was probably really early in the morning for one or both of us. I don't remember.

Some ideas of this came from Leon's friend Tasha.

Like the Frying-pan. _Of doom_!

(1) Pokemon reference. -

(2) They have a silent convo. Kratos said 'I want to talk to him (Lloyd).' and Daichi said 'I don't want to talk to you, you emo prick.'


	23. Over the mountain

Warning! Most of this was written from _My _one in the morning... and there after! :D

* * *

"But what are we going to do now?" Lloyd asks, scowling at the NE.

"... Kvar will undoubtedly increase the security now." Kratos is grumpy sounding. "We won't be able to get in easily."

"I'm not getting you in... My key is not valid for that Ranch. Not anymore." Daichi crosses his arms.

"There was someone who escaped from the ranch." Raine refers to the reason Luin was destroyed. "He, if the escapee was he, may know another way in."

"I know him." Sheena says. "His name is Pietro." Everyone glances at her. "He should still be in Hima."

"Why do you know him?" Lloyd asks curiously.

"I... It doesn't matter, does it?!" Sheena crosses her arms. "...I have my reasons." Daichi smirks, obviously thinking something else.

"Hmmmm." Lloyd hums, before crossing his arms behind his head. "Well, whatever. Okay, let's go to Hima." he heads for the North.

"... Hima is west, then south." Aurian mutters.

"... Oh." Lloyd corrects his path.

"Fool." Daichi mumbles.

* * *

November 23rd

* * *

It's more or less the middle of nowhere, or in a forest around the mountains from Hima. Aurian's on a bit better terms with Daichi again, although occasionally she'll glance at him then have to double take. Daichi still looks kinda down about the whole thing, sighing.

Kratos was already building a fire pit, when Genis and Lloyd jumped on Piers. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Piers acks, flailing about like a fish. Colette giggles while Genis and Lloyd give Piers his 'birthday tickles'.

"... What?" Aurian asks.

"What what?" Raine questions. Piers continues to flail.

"Aaargh. Gerroff!" Seems the Mariner is ticklish.

"birthday." Aurian gives it a questioning sound. Lloyd and Genis pause to stare at her, even Kratos seems to be mildly astonished that she didn't know what the importance of it was, then rather pitying.

"...." Daichi takes out a small, glitter bouncy ball and starts bouncing it. Aurian's distracted enough to go over to Daichi and watch.

"ummm." Lloyd pulls out something wrapped in what was likely homework. "Here."

Piers stares at the wrapping paper. "Thanks. But, next time, use your own homework. Not mine." He smirks, opening it. It's a wooden ball, with glimpses of a wooden ball inside that one, and another inside that. Some sort of puzzle or feat of carving. Genis offers two, one definitely book-like and the other more lumpy.

"Thanks~!" Piers states, stashing the ball away safely. He opens the book-like present. "Didn't have to get two, Genis..."

"One's from Raine." Raine's attempting to explain to Aurian what this whole birthday thing was. The book was some sort of random religious text, and in the Angelic language.

"I'll be helping you learn." Colette says smiling. "And Mr. Kratos too."

"Awesome. I've wanted to get my hands on an Angelic book for ages~!" Piers then proceeds to open the lumpy package. It's obviously from one of Raine's collections of ancient stuff. What exactly it is.... is up in the air. Piers looks over it with an experienced eye. "Interesting." Aurian comes over and drops an almost fist sized rock into his lap. It's mostly white, with black flecks, and is moderately sparkly. Piers stares at it.

"Sparkly." Aurian mutters. "I like sparklies, so... maybe you like sparklies?"

"I like sparklies. I'll put the sparkly over here." He sets it to one side so he can still see the rock. "Thanks." She blinks at him, looking like she didn't know how to respond to that. Raine sighs and drags the elf off for more lessons on 'normal life and conversations'. Piers examines the rock closely. "...She found silver ore..."

"... Wow." Lloyd peers at it. "That she did."

Daichi tosses Piers a metal flask full of liquid. "Happy 18th kid."

"Is this alcohol."

"Duh." Raine frowns, having heard this, but shakes her head.

Sheena comes up and hands him box. "Here."

"Thanks, Sheena." He takes it, opening it. There's a pair of strange knives, and little four pointed star things. "Shurikan and Kunai?" Seems Piers is up on his Ninja Tech.

Sheena blinks in surprise. "Yeah. How'dja know?"

"There's a ninja village where I come from." Sheena mutters to herself while backing off. Kratos makes a choking sound, eyes going wide as he rapidly mouths dates.

"Shit." he hisses, and lunges for his pack next to his bedroll, digging about. he comes up with that little black vial of pills, and Raine snatches it from him. Daichi watches, swallowing a few of his own. "Give them back." Kratos swipes at the bottle, and Raine puts it down her shirt.

"No." Raine says.

"I need those!"

"I think it's a psychological need. No." Piers raises an eyebrow.

"You don't understand!" Kratos hisses, an almost pleading note to his voice. "It's bad with them, it's worse without!"

"Likely because you're addicted." Raine says, crossing her arms. "You're not getting them." KRatos stares at her, making a rapid swipe for where the bottle was. Raine pulls her staff out to smash into his shoulder, when the merc cries out.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" and crumples.

"... I think I broke him." Raine mutters.

Piers wanders over. "I think you did, too." Kratos rolls away, getting to his feet shakily. His eyes were wide and unfocused, but he moved like he was looking at things.

"Get away!" he shouts, backing up, and fumbling with his sword. Aurian scoots way, eyes wide. Daichi grabs Kratos from behind, holding him as still as he can. Kratos flails, screaming for him to be let go. Apparently, Daichi was affecting his dream-world, but not in a recognizable way. He coughed, as if someone had punched him hard in the gut. "Let me go!" He's sounding panicked, watching something he can see come closer.

"...Should I?" Daichi asks.

"Might be a good idea..." Raine frowns. Kratos swings a leg in a blow for Daichi's crotch.

Daichi lets go at just the right time. "Erp. That coulda been painful..." Kratos crumples a little, but manages to run into the trees. and after he gets out of sight, literally into a tree by the sound and yelp.

"... I really didn't think I was that right about him being the Crazy one." Sheena mutters.

"Yep. Crazy." Piers sighs. Kratos is shouting things that don't quite make sense - apparently he was seeing dead people now, and they were lying to him.

"I.. don't think he... sees us." Lloyd says hesitantly.

"or anything else real." Genis mutters.

"Those drugs...What are they?" Piers has his medic hat on. (1)

Raine fishes them out. "See if you can come to a different conclusion than I did." Piers examines the bottle, taking out a mini-chemistry set from his pack.

"I'm going to make sure he doesn't get eaten by anything." Lloyd says hesitantly, and Aurian follows him as he wanders after Kratos. Daichi follows as well. Piers crushes a pill, emptying it into a vial. He sets the burner away with a blast of non-element 'magic,' and slowly heats the powder.

"Sleeping pill. Strong...He was definitely OD-ing, but this looks like you die from one OD. The fact that he's alive..."

"He did vomit... five hours later." Raine points out. Kratos is sprawled under a tree, giving that weak sort of laugh that was both cracked and leaning toward tears.

"Yeah. But that's not what I'm seeing here. He should be dead."

"...." Raine frowns, but says nothing.

"You're all dead. Dead!" Kratos is laughing weakly, holding his head as his eyes flick about like he's watching something.

"This is...Weird..." Piers frowns. "But, then again, Kratos is weird." Aurian moves closer while Lloyd sort of stares at Kratos as if he's wondering where the guy he'd started looking up to has gone. She's sniffing the air a little, and waves her hand through the air. Kratos's eyes snap-focus to the real world, and he tries to grab onto Aurian. Daichi starts, as though starting to go to grab him. Aurian pulls her hand back, and Kratos's hand closes on empty air and his eyes snap back to unfocused. Whatever he grabbed seemed to terrify the man and he released with a yelp. After a second of staring at his hand, it apparently disgusted and terrified him as well, and he tries to scrub it clean, backing up.

"You're dead! You're dead! Stop coming back!" Kratos has backed against the tree.

"Aurian... absorbs Mana." Lloyd thinks out loud. "And... his eyes changed a bit, back to normal, when she got close. So... is this... 'cause of Mana?"

"Maybe...Aur. Hug him." Daichi says, pointing.

"Eh?" Aurian blinks at them while Kratos mutters about dead not going to take him, and to let go, and why won't it turn back to the normal color. "um.." She does so.

"Let me-" Kratos breaks off midsentence, looking very confused. "... what are you doing here?" he asks, ignoring the fact that Aurian was hugging him. "...?" then he notices.

Daichi smirks. "Wow. That worked?" Aurian's shaking. Kratos notices.

"Aw. Shit..." he waves a hand in front of her eyes, but she doesn't react. "You really shouldn't do that..." Kratos tries to push her arm off him, but she's clinging, making little terrified noises. "... When did I get in a forest..." he mutters. Daichi walks forward and attempts to pull Aurian off him. Aurian makes a shrill noise of pure terror.

"Let me go." Kratos grunts, working at her hands. "I'm used to it, just let me go!"

"If that's used to it..." Lloyd mutters. Daichi manages to separate Aurian from Kratos.

"Better than-" Kratos cuts off, doubling over as if he'd been once again punched in the gut. Aurian's still trembling, but she's just crying limply now.

"I think we should knock him out." Lloyd offers. Piers runs up and clonks him over the head with his staff. Kratos blinks once or twice, before simply going limp. "... that works." Lloyd pokes him a little, and gaining no response, pulls him so he gets an arm over his shoulder and half drag him back to camp. Daichi carries the sobbing Aurian back to camp.

"... oh dear." Raine comes up to attempt to help, but it seems like Aurian absolutely refuses to talk about it and is intent to cry herself to sleep. Lloyd staggers over to a bedroll, and manages to not quite dump him in it. Daichi puts Aurian in her own roll. Piers is 'experimenting.' Also known as blowing stuff up. Every time something goes boom, Aurian jerks.

"here's food." Sheena ladles out some chicken-soup hybrid that involved rice.

Piers eats quickly, packing up his set, smirking. "I made the pills reverse."

"So... Instead of sleep and still... It makes you insomniac and hyperactive." Raine asks, frowning.

"Yes! It's genius!"

"You didn't do that to all of them, did you?" Raine asks. "After tonight's display, I think we should let him take them." Lloyd nods with spoon in mouth.

"No. Half." He hands Raine two vials. After a second, Raine puts them both inside Kratos's pack. The man was starting to twitch lightly, but not like his spaz attack or he'd be waking completely for some time.

"... Anyone have any sleep spells?" Raine asks, watching.

Piers raises his hand. "I do!"

"Might be a good idea." she indicates Kratos. Aurian's fallen asleep, curled into a ball.

Piers stands, a purple aura surrounding him. "Sleep!" Sheep fall from the sky, but fade on contact with anything. Lloyd falls over, sound asleep, and Kratos slowly exhales and looks like quite a bit more naturally asleep.

"Lloyd tried counting the sheep..." Piers states, nodding. Lloyd snores a little to punctuate that. Colette giggles and Genis shakes his head. Piers drags Lloyd off to his bedroll.

* * *

November 24th

* * *

Kratos is sort of sluggishly poking the fire back into life. Aurian's still asleep, as is Lloyd and Genis. Piers wakes with a whetstone balanced perfectly on his nose.

"...Thanks Kratos."

"Welcome." Kratos grunts. "Although I have the feeling that you're the reason I feel as if there's an army marching in my head." Genis wakes, and with a grin, starts making breakfast.

"Why would you think that?" Piers goes shifty-eyes.

"there was a bump the shape of a staff across the back of my head." Kratos mutters, before going back to his bedroll and pulling his blanket over his head. Lloyd blinks awake to this sight.

".. uhhh..." Piers tucks the whetstone away, stretching. Genis sets a plate of breakfast out next to Raine's bedroll, then proceeds to tempt Noishe into licking her. As the healer wakes with a yelp, Genis gives her a hug.

"Happy Birthday!" Raine blinks.

"... I'm 24..." she groans.

"Yeah. Happy Birthday, professor~!" Piers states, digging around in his pack. Colette smiles and takes over cooking breakfast, while Lloyd fishes around in his pack for something he was working on. "Aha!" Piers states, pulling out a book. Lloyd pulls out a handful of much worn papers, while Kratos fishes in his pack for a much neater, hand bound set of papers. Aurian's blinking, but trembling still, wrapped up in her blanket and peering at everyone.

Piers walks forward. "Here. It's a book of rock samples dating back nearly 1,000 years. He opens the book. On each page there is a small, slate-like sample of many kinds of rock and gem. "Its ordered chronologically."

Raine squees. "Thank you!"

"... I did all that homework I've missed." Lloyd offers lamely. "I'll make something soon. I didn't get a chance for Piers's last birthday, soo..." Kratos silently places what looks to be the descriptions and abilities of all the healing spells he knows, or has seen in action, on top of Lloyd's homework next to Raine. Aurian gives her a sparkly.

Daichi places two, rather large, full pouches of Gald. "I, uh, started an anti-swear thing. Every time, I put 10 Gald in a pouch. Safe to say it ain't working. I want you to have it."

Raine blinks. "... Interesting to know that you've actually kept to it, despite losing the Gald to them."

"Hard habit to break." Shikka places a spent Laguz Gem beside the sparkly. Lloyd inspects the sparkly this time.

"... Still Ore, but... Not silver. Still a white metal..." he hands it to Piers.

"Platinum." Piers concludes.

"I was leaning a little toward Mithril." Lloyd admits, shrugging. "... where did you find those?" Lloyd asks.

Aurian blinks at him, then shrugs. "just picked up."

"... Dude, you're crazy lucky." Lloyd mutters, as they set about cleaning up camp.

* * *

November 25th

* * *

It's very windy, windier than Asgard due to the fact Hima was on top of the mountain rather than in a valley. the entire town consists of a shop, and a large inn where apparently everyone stays.

"He should be in the inn." Sheena holds her arm before her eyes to keep the dust out, and Aurian moves behind Shikka before her loose clothes can be used to pick her up.

Daichi shivers. "I love the wind..."

Lloyd frowns, pausing in the middle of pretending to fly to the inn. "... I thought you said you didn't..."

"Sarcasm, kid."

".. Oh." Lloyd continues on, and they head into the inn. A dark haired woman who works in the inn looks surprised at their Ninja.

"Sheena!"

"Sophia! How's Pietro?" Sheena asks.

"... He passed away." Sophia looks at the floor.

"No doubt from wounds he got at the ranch." Daichi comments. "Kvar is one sick fucker..."

Raine reaches up to smack him upside the head, while Kratos looks off to the North East, and Aurian hides at the mention of the Cardinal's name.

"Not that I disagree." Raine sighs.

"Did he say anything?" Genis asks. "Something about the Human Ranch perhaps?"

"I..I don't know..." Sophia says, still looking at the floor.

"What about his belongings?" Raine seems to have spotted something.

"He didn't have any." Sophia answers.

"Where is his grave?" Raine presses.

"At the back of the adventurers' graveyard." Sophia says. "..Ah, please don't go digging up his grave." she looks worried.

"We won't..." Daichi says. "...much..." He mumbles under his breath. Aurian blinks at him, ears twitching.

"Right." Lloyd says, and they head back out after reserving their pair of rooms. there's a part of the town where it looked like something had been, complete with black marks on the stone as if a big fire had been there. Aurian is using Shikka as a windshield yet, as they head up the path further up the mountain. Piers examines the burned down portion before running to catch up. They reach a bend in the path, with a ledge flat bit that held graves. Kratos stops at the edge of the graveyard, looking like something had forced him to go on edge, and he didn't know what it was. Colette covers a shiver with ducking her head to pray a little, and Aurian's shivering with the cold.

"What's wrong?" Lloyd glances at Kratos, already looking at names. Daichi shivers lightly, trying to ignore the surroundings.

"Nothing." Kratos almost snaps it, which makes Lloyd blink. "I have a headache." he glares at the graves.

"Found it." Raine says, from further back in the Graveyard. Piers is suddenly solemn. Kratos is glaring at another grave marker as if he expects it to jump up and attack them. "...I think they cremated him." Raine points out, looking at the small mound for the grave. "I suppose that digging up the grave wouldn't help..."

"Anyway, let's pray." Colette bows her head and clasps her hands. After everyone bows their heads - well, Kratos didn't, and Aurian only did so because that's what the rest were doing, Colette suddenly blinks. "Hmm?" she turns around. Aurian seems to be hearing something; by the way her ears were twitching. Someone is coming up the path in an awkward shambling gait. Daichi picks it up, too, turning to look. A bedraggled man with glassy eyes stops near them.

"Chosen.. Mana... D... die..." he slur-mumbles out.

"W.. what's he saying?" Genis sounds a little panicked, likely because the man seemed to be exhibiting Zombie traits.

"Pietro!" Sheena recognizes him. "I heard you were dead..."

Daichi tenses. Piers frowns. "Wait..."

"Here you are." Sophia runs up after him.

"Chosen... die... angel... die... human... ranch... underground..." Pietro mutter-slurs. Sophia grabs onto his arm.

"You mustn't come out here. Let's go." she's not looking at the party.

"..." Piers looks suspicious.

"you lied to us." Raine points out. "He's the one who escaped from the Ranch!" Lloyd brightens, while other expressions range from disappointed to pissed-off-for-no-reason. One guess to the last one.

"Really?!" Lloyd heads over, and approaches Pietro. "Please tell me, how did you get away from the human ranch?" he says it clearly, a little slowly. Piers follows Lloyd, curious.

"Boulder.. big... underground... jewel... boulder... move... Chosen..." Pietro mutter-slurs.

Genis blinks. "What are you saying?"

Kratos seems to have gone abruptly calm after he left the graveyard. "...Is that... the escape route...?" he whisper-thinks it out loud.

"... Please, let him be!" Sophia puts herself in front of Pietro.

"Why did you lie... And what's wrong with him?" Piers asks.

"a curse." Sophia mutters, but doesn't budge or answer why she lied. Sheena scowls.

"Now listen!" she marches up to Sophie. "You might be happy just protecting Pietro-"

"there's your answer.-" Genis mutters.

"-but because of this guy, countless people from Luin are dead! How about helping us just a little!" Sheena fumes.

"Hm..." Piers suddenly casts a spell. A light, cool aura spreads across the entire party, including Pietro.

"I'm sure Pietro has many things he wants to say, as well, but because of the curse, he's been turned into this..." Sophia says.

"...Huh?" Pietro is blinking.

"...?!" Piers shows sign of obvious strain before releasing the spell.

"chosen!" Pietro seems to realize what's going to happen. "Angelus Project! and a Mana Cannon! Desians are making some weap-" his focus glazes over. "...boulder.... Desians...." he mutters. Kratos has gone into a mild state of shock.

Piers falls to his knees. "A-Ah..."

Kratos moves over and grips Pietro's shoulders. "Mana Cannon? Thor's Hammer?!" he asks, almost demands, but Pietro doesn't give him an answer. "Thor's Hammer, from the Ancient War? They're reviving that ...thing?!"

Sophia pulls Kratos's hands off Pietro. "Leave him alone!" Piers slowly stands. Kratos seems to abruptly realize that he'd just done that, and rubs his head.

".... Lift his curse... Permanently." Sophia has calmed a bit. "I'll help you if you promise me that."

"If the spell was stronger, I could seal the curse... I don't have enough power..."

"There's a healing technique in the Tower of Mana, left by Boltzmann. That should be able to do it." Sophia says, glancing between Raine, who was testing Pietro with her Mana, and Piers.

"All right." Raine says, admitting she can't. "But we're going to infiltrate the ranch first. That I won't reliquish."

"I need water...Flowing water. Any streams around here?"

Sophia thinks. "... No."

"four hours north, after descending the path from the town. a day and a half west, the ocean." Kratos mutters.

"Joy..." He frowns. "Lakes? Fresh water sources?"

"One deep well." Sophia says.

"Too deep."

"Sorry." Sophia says. "But when he got here, he said he escaped through the front yard and he blocked the exit with a boulder. His things are in the grave... Take them with you."

"Thank you." Colette clasps her hands. "We'll come back when we've acquired the healing technique." Sophia nods, before leading Pietro off.

"Was there a boulder there?" Genis thinks.

Aurian shrugs. "Too worried about... ranch.. to pay attention.." she mutters. Piers is rummaging in his pack for something.

"I do recall something that seemed unnatural." Kratos mutters.

"Does this mean we go back there now?" Colette asks.

"Tower of Mana is a library." Aurian points out quickly. "The first floor. And we have the key." She is obviously in no hurry to go back to face the Cardinal who terrifies her.

"Did someone mention library?" Genis perks slightly. Raine looks mildly torn.

"We can look first?" Aurian says hopefully.

"Let's decide in the morning." Colette says, smiling.

* * *

November 26th

* * *

It is now morning. Genis is cooking breakfast in the inn kitchen, while Kratos leans against the wall and Aurian sits curled up in a corner. Daichi stumbles down, looking slightly hung over.

"... were you up all night drinking?" Kratos asks blandly.

"No." Daichi burps lightly.

Kratos raises an eyebrow, and a tiny fire spell lights the burp into a fireball. "... you were." Aurian looks surprised.

"...Maybe." Kratos gets a sudden look of evil planning, and leans over to whisper something to Aurian. she looks confused, then nods. Her lights spring into existence, a good two dozen of them bringing the room into noon brightness. "Arrgh..." Daichi mumbles, shielding his eyes. "You have an evil mind, Aurion."

"I'll take that as a complement." Kratos sketches a mocking bow.

Lloyd has been called down the stairs by the scents of food, and he too goes "aaahhsh." At the brightness of the room. Daichi continues to chair flail, trying to find a spot away from the light. He eventually takes his breakfast under the table. Kratos nods at Aurian, and she blinks, and the lights wink out. Lloyd makes a happy noise into his coffee.

Piers, who walked into the kitchen wearing sunglasses, pokes Kratos. "What's the Mana cannon?"

Kratos grimaces. "It is as it sounds. It is a cannon that fires Mana."

"What's a cannon?" Lloyd asks, forking a pancake.

"remember the Raybits? Their weapon, the gun... but much larger." Kratos explains, although he looks like he doesn't want to.

"ooh." Lloyd eats, then snatches off Piers' sunglasses. "What are theeese?"

Piers flails in shock. "They're glasses."

Lloyd holds them so he can look through them. "heeey.. everything's dark."

"But what's so bad about it?" Raine frowns at Kratos, Colette behind her.

"It's a Mana Cannon. It devours the Mana from about it so that it may fire it as a.." Kratos seems to have trouble picking a description for what the Mana Cannon did. ".. giant ball of destruction. The Mana is completely _lost_." Raine pales.

"That sounds...Devasating." Daichi mumbles from under the table. Raine jumps, surprised.

"Why are you still under the table?" Lloyd's got the sunglasses on upside down.

"Because I feel like it."

"then I shall join you!" Lloyd goes under as well.

"So, what's the plan?" Genis asks. "Tower of Mana or Kvar's ranch first?" He's got the remaining pancakes on a plate and his own for noming.

"Why?" Daichi asks.

"Because I feel like it." Lloyd grins, finishing his pancakes.

"the knowledge within the Tower may be helpful." Raine says, then points at Kratos.

"I want to kill Kvar." Kratos says blandly.

"Mana tower." Genis says.

"Kvar." Lloyd shrugs.

"Mana." Aurian says. Raine points at Shikka.

"..." Shikka is silent. "...Oh! You want my vote?"

"Yes." Raine says. She looks at Piers and Daichi as well. "Your votes?"

Shikka does a mental coin toss. "Tower."

"Mana!" Piers says.

"...Kv...Tower.." Daichi mutters.

"tower. If we can learn more healing, then we can help the people at the Ranch better!" Colette smiles, then quickly drops it. "Sorry." she says to Kratos and Lloyd. Daichi just noms on his pancakes.

Lloyd shrugs. "It's not like we're never going there." Kratos mutters something that sounds like 'revenge is best served cold', but he leaves to back upstairs.

"...." Raine watches him with a frown, but shrugs. Daichi takes his pills out swallowing some with the remainder of pancake.

Sometime a handful of hours later, Genis pipes up. "Lloyd's gotten a lot stronger, you know?" Lloyd blinks, surprised.

"Yeah." Colette smiles. "He isn't so reckless anymore, either. I wonder if it's thanks to Kratos's advice?"

"I haven't done anything." Kratos says.

"Or he caught on that getting hit hurts." Piers adds.

"That's... not true..." Lloyd points out to Kratos, who blinks like he's surprised. "And I've always known that getting hit hurts."

"Wow, Lloyd's being humble for a change." Genis teases. Before Lloyd can tell Genis to Shut up, Colette smiles, grabbing his arm.

"Aren't you happy, Lloyd? That you've found such a good teacher." Colette says.

"No, I have no right to guide anyone." Kratos mutters. "Once before I had someone who called me 'teacher', but I was unable to save him from falling into the depths of despair. That is...my crime...." Lloyd looks confusedly at Kratos, as do the younger two Iselian teens, but the mercenary doesn't elaborate. Daichi seems to have recovered, having contained a lot of coffee in a hip flask.

* * *

November 30th

* * *

They reach Luin a little after noon, and the state of the city makes Kratos clam up even more. Lloyd stares at it for a bit, then turns to them.

"Let's help clean it up." Lloyd says, looking over the party. Kratos nods, and heads off, likely searching for bodies to dispose of again, while Raine and Genis nod, and head off for the inn, going to clean up inside that. Sheena appears to be thinking, but heads after Kratos, and Lloyd heads off into another end of town with Colette, Aurian trailing behind them. Daichi and Shikka start shifting and clearing rubble. Every two hours, Kratos has created a pyre with a Fire Spell. It's shortly after the second one, when it's starting to go dark that Aurian screams.

Piers is first on the scene. "What happened?"

"Dunno." Lloyd looks startled, worried, as Aurian babbles about 'wasn't slacking off, don't hurt me, it won't happen again, don't take me to the room', curled up in a ball and clutching her head. Kratos appears to be hiding pity in his expression, as the rest draw closer. Raine moves over and checks on the elf. She's bleeding from her grip on her head. Daichi suddenly looks shocked, slowly backing away.

"Aurian, breathe slowly. Deep breaths." Raine's instructing her to stop hyperventilating, but it isn't working, so she settles for pulling her hands from her head. "Lloyd, explain." she says, while ignoring the terrified look that Aurian's giving her. Daichi turns and runs. Kratos notes this, but doesn't comment.

"Dunno. I stumbled while we were carrying that roof-part," he indicates the corner. "She held it until I scrambled away, then freaked out."

"Likely she's reminded of Ranch work." Kratos says, glancing the way that Daichi ran off.

Piers blinks. "Hey. Where's Daichi??"

"That way." Kratos is more interested in watching Aurian, his eyes darkening. "Where is your Exsphere?" he asks suddenly, but Aurian doesn't seem to hear him, still gasping for air in tiny bursts.

"..." Piers stares that way. Genis gets Lloyd's attention, and they wander off after Daichi. Raine gently turns Aurian onto her side.

"Aurian? Do you have an Exsphere?" Aurian doesn't respond, just tries to curl back up again, her trembling strong enough that it fail a bit.

Daichi seems to be taking his angst out on a wall.

"what's up?" Lloyd asks.

"..." He halts in his action of kicking the wall. "I...I can't help but feel..." He sighs, seeming to hold back crying. "Responsible...For Aurian's state."

"Ah." Lloyd says, frowning. "But... It's not... all... your fault." he crosses his arms.

"Kvar said he caught her. So it's his." Genis says.

He leans against the wall, head against his arm against the wall. "Still..." Colette randomly runs up and hugs Daichi. Daichi acks, flailing.

"You just have to try to make it up, if you feel that way, I guess..." Lloyd says awkwardly.

Daichi laughs darkly. "You try making up for years of torture."

"Better to try than to do nothing at all." Lloyd points out.

"Isn't that Dwarven Vow 16?" Genis asks, while Colette lets go of Daichi.

"No, Dwarven Vow 16 is 'you can do anything if you try.'"Lloyd says.

"Dunno how."

"Just be nice." Colette says, smiling. "Help her."

"Aurian, please answer. We're going to help, but we need to know where your Exsphere is." Aurian shakes her head weakly, gasping out incoherent mutters about lies.

"..." Kratos leans forward, his face close to Aurian's. "Where is your Exsphere, host body 33-724." he does a good 'Desian Snarl'. Raine glares at the back of his head while Aurian freezes, falling silent. Daichi rejoins the group. Aurian stares through him, very visibly terrified, but she doesn't answer.

"... I'm not that good of an actor." Kratos grunts, his voice holding self-disgust.

"Why did you do that?!" Raine almost slaps him.

"She reacted to it, isn't that better than nothing?" Kratos asks back.

"If we wanna terrify her, do it right..." Daichi mumbles.

"We need to find out where her Exsphere is." Kratos crosses his arms, watching Daichi. "She does not respond to us, but she did to my attempt at being a Desian." Raine still looks furious with him. "perhaps the real one should make an attempt?" Kratos mock-bows to Daichi, backing up.

Daichi glares at Kratos, looking to Raine. "I can give it a try..."

"I'm going to hit you later." Raine points out to Kratos. Kratos smirks for a second, but it vanishes back into the bland expression of self-hate. "Go ahead and try." Raine sighs. Daichi sighs, fishing out his helm. He puts it on, walking towards Aurian. He clears his throat.

"Host Body 33-724...Where's your Exsphere?!" He growls, bending down and grabbing Aurian's chin. Lloyd comes up at this point, and his expression turns dark. As he lunges for Daichi, Sheena grabs onto him.

"Wait." she says. Aurian trembles, but all that she says is a useless jumble of pleading not to hurt her and that they were lying.

Daichi deepens his tone, not wanting to hit her. "Inferior being! 33-724, where is your fucking Exsphere?!" Raine's pointedly not looking at them, but her hands on her staff are white knuckled. Aurian wails weakly, but her breathing is still wrong and she can barely continue to mutter due to it. "If ya can't give a straight answer, point it out, inferior being." Daichi growls deeply. she twitched, trembled, but indicated her right shoulder, hands moving together like she thought they were bound.

"Cut the seam." Kratos says. Raine scowls at him. Daichi draws his dagger, closing his eyes as he does so. Aurian's still making weak fear noises, but it doesn't change when he draws the dagger. It seems her mindscape and reality still haven't gotten back together.

Raine glares at Kratos. "I'm going to hit you later... Hard." she says. Kratos shrugs. Daichi makes the cut. Piers tenses, starting to glow, ready to cast. Kratos is looking over Daichi's shoulder, and lets a small 'i knew it' sort of grunt out. The Exsphere is a strange orange color, the gem a little under her collarbone. Vein like tendons, nine of them, strain away from the Exsphere, with puffy almost-scars that look like the engravings of a Key Crest encircle it. Daichi steps away, dropping the dagger, looking disgusted with himself.

"Lloyd." Kratos calls, crouched next to the elf as she keeps trembling, tearing up in terror.

"Why did you even suggest that?!" Raine snaps, glaring hard at Kratos. "She's in more of a panic than before!"

"I will apologize when she recovers, to her." Kratos says slowly. "We need to know, that was the fastest means to an answer. I think she'd have liked that better than stripping her." Lloyd walks up and slaps Kratos across the face.

Daichi is pale. "I...I can't..."

"We needed to know." Kratos repeats, head still tilted away from Lloyd's slap.

"Is that all it was? a means to an end? You'd .. traumatize someone further to 'aid' them?!" Raine hisses. Kratos says nothing, while Lloyd tries to ignore Aurian's terrified face when she switches to watching him.

"Yeah. That's the charm for a Crest... but it's wrong." Lloyd has sketched out the scar-runes in the dirt.

Daichi just sinks to his knees. "Somehow, I don't think apology is gonna work."

"If she doesn't remember, there's nothing to apologize for." Kratos says, and Raine whacks him upside the head with her staff. Daichi responds with a second whack with the haft of his axe. Downside the head this time.

Kratos stares at the ground. "I recognize the signs of a higher power telling me to shut up." he mutters, before wincing. "Oww.." it was the closest to a whine they would ever hear from him.

"It's wrong..." Lloyd mutters, then draws out his own runes. "The angelic runes are wrong."

Daichi growls. "You'll pay for this, Aurion." Kratos merely looks at him very, very blandly.

"What do you mean, wrong?" Raine switches to healer mode.

"Several of them are... cut, wrong.... others are in the wrong places... some are completely new, leaving out some that should be there... only a few are right." Raine blinks, and looks for Colette. Piers frowns at the etchings on the ground, noticing a few from his training.

"These..." Colette traces the new ones. "They're old. I wasn't taught these ones.. The rest are for some sort of protection." She traces Lloyd's circle of runes. "These are all different kinds of protection a few for strength."

"Steel, or Steal." Lloyd jumps. Kratos is back looking at what they're doing. "Life." He ignores the lot of them. "Silent, or silence, shield, divine protection..." Daichi starts to wander off. Kratos notices the stares. "Or protector."

"You can read this?" Lloyd asks, pointing at the old runes. "I knew about Angelic, but..."

"Ancient Angelic?" Raine asks.

"I escorted an elder member of the church once. he saw fit to teach me a handful of the ancient runes." he looks at the sky. "We should relocate to the inn."

"How are we gonna move her. She has a hole in her shoulder." Piers asks.

"She's not bleeding." Kratos points out.

"A broken bone doesn't bleed, but you don't move that." Piers points out. He then mumbles something about Kratos being Mr. Angstypants. Kratos grunts. Aurian's pretty much just lying there, still terrified, but her breathing's starting to stabilize.

".. All right." Raine turns back to Aurian. "Aurian?" Again, the elf doesn't respond to that. "We're going to move. It's fine, we're going for shelter." she shows no sign of comprehension. She moves to help pull her up. Kratos's hand moves before her vision before she registers that Aurian's breathing turned frantic, and Colette's gasp. Kratos's hand is between Raine's and Aurian, her teeth fastened into his hand. Kratos's blank expression doesn't change as Aurian's teeth draws blood, he just uses his hand to move Aurian's head out of Raine's way.

"Piers. You can cast sleep, can you not?" Kratos asks blandly.

"...Yes. You'd best get out of the way. But...Your hand..." Kratos is watching the blood run down his fingers, and moves them, almost absently.

"She's distracted right now." Now he winced as Aurian chomped down harder, ominous sounds of danger to bones reaching them. "She's incapable of fighting back right for the moment." Piers shrugs. He casts sleep, causing sheep to rain from the heavens once more. Lloyd falls over after a few seconds, while Kratos wavers on the spot, bringing his other hand to his head. Aurian falls asleep, but her bite doesn't let up. Raine frowns, but Kratos just finds some spot on her jaw and frees his hand. Aurian falls limply over now that her grip on his hand wasn't keeping her up. Kratos turns his hand over once or twice, moving his fingers, before wandering off, cleaning his hand with his mouth.

Piers starts dragging Lloyd. "I told you NOT to count the damned sheep." Raine mutters about uncivilized brutes before getting Sheena's help in carrying Aurian.

Piers drags Lloyd to the inn where Shikka is finishing off. "...What happened?"

"Aurian..." Sheena thinks of a good word to use.

"Had a mental breakdown." Raine says, making a sort of nest of blankets and bedrolls for Aurian.

"...Oh."

"Lloyd counted the sheep again." Piers says, propping Lloyd against the wall. Kratos returns shortly.

"Hand." Raine demands of him as he takes a seat in a more or less stable chair. Kratos blinks once, offering his sword hand. Raine frowns at him, wondering if he thought he thought he was being funny. "The one she bit." Kratos silently offers the other hand. Piers makes sheep bounce around Lloyd.

Colette watches, and she too falls over asleep. Raine pulls Kratos's glove off, noting that there was a hole for the Exsphere and it's crest to be seen through, and looks at the simple metal band on his ring finger. Before she could get a good look at it, Kratos's other hand darted over, took the ring, and put it on the finger of that hand, before putting it in a pocket out of sight. Piers smirks, lying back. Daichi appears from nowhere, cleaning his axe on a bloodied rag. Genis also watched the sheep, and has fallen asleep. Raine's frowning at Kratos's hand, not letting her expression change as she catches thick and thin scars, but no sign of the bite.

"I saw the blood." Raine mutters, turning his hand over. "Where are the scabs.. or the indentations, if the blood was her own... bloodless cuts, if you washed them too much." Kratos indicates a pattern of new scars. Daichi flops down, looking slightly more normal, but still depressed and pissed off. ".. You healed them." Kratos nods, retrieving his hand and putting ring and glove back on. Raine glares at him.

"... Yes." he crosses his arms. The mercenary stands, attention wandering while Raine berates him for using Mana that he could use for protecting them, on small things that she could use far less, more effectively, on.

"And- are you even paying attention?!" Raine raises a hand to hit him again. Daichi nonchalantly sweeps the haft of his axe at the back of Kratos' knees. Kratos's legs buckle from the blow, but he avoids another head blow. he twists to get away from them both.

"Aurian is waking, Ms. Sage, Mr. Misawa." Kratos says with heavy politeness, straightening.

"...Don't call me by my last name. That's just...Freaky." Raine is distracted by this, barely noticing Kratos's escape to a point near the door because Aurian shrieked, flailing. Colette jerked awake, clapping her hands to her ears, Kratos flinching and Lloyd waking with a yelp. Daichi winces at the shriek. Piers jolts upright, blinking confusedly. Sheena looks for the source of the noise while Raine helps Aurian flail free. the elf stares at Raine with confusion and fright as she backs up to the wall, before she flinches away from her back's contact to it, curing up again instead.

"... Raine...?" Aurian whispers, voice hoarse. "..Colette? Why... are we inside...? Don't... we have more ... we can do?" Raine blinks. Daichi just sits there, sighing. Kratos shifts.

"Lloyd was clumsy, and you hit your head." Raine says. "we stopped work early." Aurian catches sight of Daichi and yelps, but it's muffled by her knees as she curls harder.

Daichi blinks, then removes his helm. "It's only me." Lloyd opens his mouth to say that it wasn't like that, but Kratos catches his eye and shakes his head. Aurian's response is a whimper. of pain.

Genis yelps awake, staring at Aurian's corner. "Holy Spirits, that is a lot of Mana!" Aurian makes a keening noise, gripping her shoulder as she falls over.

"Crap... I've seen this before..." Kratos gets Colette, Lloyd and Genis to go out of the inn with Piers.

"She's bleeding." Raine mutters. Kratos stops near the table.

"Stabilize her Mana." Kratos says, holding his head. "There's... too much." he takes a few steps back. Piers looks confused as he's shunted out of the inn.

"..Incredible.." Raine whispers, her hands glowing golden-minty green-white. "... Incredible.. reserves..." she's getting a light sheen of sweat. "She must have been a mage... But... The Mana is ... tainted... twisted." Aurian keens again, curled into a ball as her shirt soaks through with blood and stains the ground. "That's what's hurting her. Her Mana is resisting attempts at stabilization."

"Wh-What do we do?!" Daichi asks. Lloyd's peering in a window.

"Remove the tainted Mana." Kratos says it like it's the simplest thing in the world. Raine stares at him.

"... How?" she asks.

"..." Daichi just stares at Kratos, chalking this up mentally.

"Do they not teach you how to mold your Mana to contain or control another?" Sheena and Raine stare at the mercenary. Kratos shakes his head, walking over to crouch by Aurian. She doesn't take notice of him before he starts gathering Mana. She inhales, confusedly, muttering through pain-haze about cinnamon, cloves, ginger and rosemary, her half open eyes trying to focus on him. Daichi watches curiously. She keened again as he spread his hands wide at her shoulders, Mana swirling visible. Kratos's eyes narrow against the wild colors of the Elemental Mana types that swirl in a great cloud of pearly grey-white about them, drawing shifting blue sparks when they tried to run through him. He reached out for an ugly brown-purple, his shifting-blue Mana catching it. He lets out a long hiss as ugly burns spring up on his fingers, but he keeps to it, gathering the tainted Mana from the small storm he'd kicked up of Aurian's. Aurian lay still, and when no more of the ugly colored Mana swirled from her, he stands, holding his hands like he'd caught a bug, and shoves the Mana into the ground, loosing much of his that contained it. he sits, and frowns at his hands.

"So that explains it..." Mumbles Daichi.

"Stagnant... Mana." Kratos works his fingers slowly with a grimace. "Can't get it out in time, goes bad..."

"You're insane." Sheena points out. "And I mean... really insane." Raine finishes checking on Aurian, who seems to be waking up again, then slaps Kratos upside the head.

"Don't do that again." she tugs his gloves off, which made the mercenary hiss again. Daichi seems to be thinking. Shikka just sits there like a big plushie.

"It's my body, I'll do what I want with it." Kratos mutters, but Raine slaps him again for it.

"You going to heal yourself, Master Mercenary?" Raine asks, gingerly turning his hands over to study the burns, ignoring his faint hisses.

"I don't know how to heal burns, let alone burns caused by stagnant Mana." Kratos mutters.

"She's still bleeding." Sheena points out, crouched next to Aurian. Daichi stands, walking over to her. she's still barely conscious, but enough to twitch her ears in time with his footsteps. her shirt was soaked through from the back. Raine finds that she can't do too much for the burns on Kratos's hands, and leaves the mercenary to lift the Elf's shirt.

"..." Sheena looks pale at the impressive collection of scars. Daichi looks away at this.

"Sheena, get the others for hot water. Piers should be able to help get the cleaner water. Tell Genis we need the supply of bandages, but he's not to come in, and neither are the others. Kratos, Shikka, Daichi, hand over your water skins." Raine instructs, pushing the shirt up to Aurian's shoulders. there's a weird scar on her right shoulder blade that looks a 9-pointed star was ripped from there.

"What about Piers? We need him here to purify the water. Besides, he's of age." Shikka points out, handing over his skin. Daichi doefs the same.

"And it's not like he'll be seeing more than her back." Kratos mutters, his hands awkwardly about the canteen.

".. fine." Raine mutters, after giving Kratos an un-amused look. Piers is let into the inn.

"Water purification? Sure." He tries not to look at Aurian. Raine hands him the water skins, while Sheena comes back with an armload of bandages and tells them that the kettle's getting heated. "Not sure how she'll react to Healing, because her Mana was... having problems, so we're going to try normal methods first." Raine mutters.

"If this fails, we can try Wish. It's a bit more... Gentle than First Aid." He pours the water into a bowl, starting to remove the impurities. All of them. The slag ends up in a pile beside the bowl.

"whether you like it or not, you're helping me." Raine tells the other three adults. "Get some of the hot water, wash your hands, touch nothing on the way back in. Piers, help me clean her back so we can tell where she's hurt." Kratos grimaces as he tries moving his fingers again, but does as she said. Piers levitates some of the pure water over, starting to let it loose over her back in a light rain.

this washes the blood more or less off her back, showing some of the scars that hadn't very well. it looks like someone's taken strips off her back, three sets on either side of her spine. Piers keeps going until her back is more or less clean. the marks keep bleeding, and Raine frowns at two patterns of the same sort of ugly burns that Kratos had on his fingers on her back.

"Enough for now." Raine says, taking the hot water and cleaning her hands before pressing large pieces of gauze to the wounds. They start staining red slowly. Piers watches. Daichi can't bring himself to look.

"Shikka, Kratos, Daichi. I need pressure." Raine commands them to help her. Kratos gives her a bland look, but does as she says, hissing once. Shikka does this unflinchingly. Daichi hesitates before doing so. Piers is purifying more water. It seems to help, although Aurian whimpers a little under the pain. Kratos's burns decide to take this moment to show they're the nasty kind, and he makes a face.

"Sheena, take over for Kratos." Raine says.

"R-right." Sheena does so. Aurian passes back out again, while Kratos sits there and scowls murderously at his hands.

"Not stopping." Raine scowls. "Once we remove the soiled bandages, clean again." Raine instructs, and Sheena gets ready to pull the gauze off with Raine. Piers preps the orb of water. They pulls the gauze off, which hadn't started gumming to Aurian's back, which meant it didn't wake her.

"Can you heal at the same time? if not, Sheena can take over with the cleaning while you cast." Raine says.

"I can cast slowly."

"that will work." Raine says, grimacing at Aurian's back. Aurian didn't seem to be able to stay unconscious for very long. Piers starts casting Ply. The wave of healing power washes over Aurian. Aurian mutters something about cold, shivering, but the wounds heal up almost half way. Raine looks pleased. "Let's rinse her back again, just in case, and see if we can get them closed." Piers slows Ply way down as Sheena washes her back again. "That should be good." Raine says, watching. "Kratos, tell Genis to make stew. She's going to need the fluids." Kratos nods and heads outside of the inn. Piers steps up the ply once more, starting to seal the wounds. they heal to the point of pink scar and tiny scabs spread about, and refuse to go further. "... Better than having to simply bandage them." Raine mutters.

"...?" Aurian glances questioningly up at her, her ears twitching trembling. Piers relaxes slightly, panting, sweat beading on his for head.

"You're hurt." Raine explains while managing to change her shirt. "Can you sit up?" Aurian seems to wonder why she couldn't, by her expression, and sits up. She seems to black out and slump back over.

"... great." Sheena mumbles.

"Evidentially not." Piers mumbles. Raine mutters to herself, getting Shikka's help in moving Aurian from the bloodstained space.

"Let's try this again." She holds Aurian propped up before trying to wake her back up.

"She needs iron. Chocolate. Red meat. I think she's lost too much blood..." Piers mumbles. Kratos returns in time to hear this, and fishes in his pack. Apparently, he still has some chocolate from Halloween, which he offers. "You got any dark?" He asks, eyeing the Milk Chocolate. Kratos takes his chocolate piece back and does indeed have dark chocolate. he offers that instead. Piers breaks it in half. He hands it to Raine. "The cocoa has iron in it. Glad to see some people stock luxury 95% still." Raine looks at it, then holds it in her hands to warm it for a little while, before popping it into the elf's mouth. Aurian wakes in time to enjoy chocolate. Piers smiles lightly. Aurian doesn't try to sit up this time, seeming content to lean against Raine, although she's a bit twitchy still. Kratos lets the others back in. Daichi has a small fire going and Shikka is roasting beef kebabs on them. Lloyd manages to not quite look guilty, but still at the same shifty. Kratos is still working his burnt hands slowly, a scowl on his face. Piers watches Lloyd. Raine's more worried with keeping Aurian awake, which she does by keeping chocolate from her and making her grab for it. Colette is tidying up, and looks like she's debating making a laundry trip. Shikka now plays with Aurian, dangling kebabs before her. Aurian attempts to grab them, but she's moving slow. Colette decides that yes, she's going to make a Laundry trip, and gathers up their clothes, including Aurian's rather bloody shirt. Piers tags along to help, water being his thing. Daichi joins in the 'keep Aurian awake' game. Aurian starts looking sad at this, because she wants nomz, and they aren't letting her get any. Her ears don't help this, making her look more sad. Shikka lets her have his. Aurian noms, curling back against Raine while managing to give them a glare like look of 'don't take my food' while she eats quickly.

"I think that was directed at me." Daichi comments. Aurian doesn't bother answering for eating. Genis makes a beef stew to go with the kebabs. Daichi noms on his own kebab. Lloyd's very pleased with kebabs. Aurian finishes her kebab, and eyes the one closest to her. Daichi tosses it to her. Aurian happily devours it for him. After dinner's done, and Colette returns with clean but damp clothes, Aurian starts dozing off again.

"Raine. Do we want her to sleep?" Piers states, starting to extract the water from the clothes.

".. she's not concussed." Raine mutters, thinking. "If she was, then no, but..." Raine looks at Aurian. "Eat more first." Aurian eats a bit more, but ends up dozing off in the middle, so Raine sets her up with a bed. Kratos is staring into their little fire with a look that has Lloyd on the other side of the inn. Daichi either doesn't care or doesn't notice, poking at the fire with a stick. After a while, Colette hesitantly goes up to Kratos.

"Kratos, you have a scary look on your face..." she trails off when he glances at her, then back to the fire. Daichi looks up, watching.

"Yes." Raine frowns at him. "Did something happen?" Kratos gives her a look of 'are you really asking me that.' "Very well, did anything happen to make your personally angry?"

"No." Kratos doesn't quite snap, but it is sharp. "I'm the same as usual."

"Doesn't seem that way." Piers points out.

"...You're lying." Genis accuses. "Anyone can see you're mad about something."

"I am not angry!" Kratos is on his feet, glaring at Genis.

"Stop yelling!" Raine snaps at him. For a second, Kratos transferred his glare full force onto her, before he flinched looking away.

"..." all of them are silent for a moment, before Kratos makes a disgusted noise, trying to clench his hands and failing, and heads for the remains of the door.

"I'm sorry. Please let me be alone for a while." It was through gritted teeth, and he leaves anyway. Piers and Daichi watch as Kratos walks away. They frown.

"... He's really angry." Lloyd says, watching. Aurian managed to sleep through this.

"Obviously." Daichi mumbles.

Lloyd looks like he's debating following Kratos, but settled in his bedroll instead. "Not worth getting attacked." he mumbles. Piers flops back on his own. Daichi is still playing with fire. Kratos returns several hours later. it looks like he'd been sifting through the rubble again. Genis, Lloyd, Colette, Aurian, Raine, and Sheena asleep, or pretending too, in Colette's case. Shikka and Piers are still asleep. Daichi's awake, but isn't paying attention to reality. Kratos just drops himself into a corner, and sits there. He seems to have calmed a bit. he pulls out his bedroll and settled in it. Daichi sighs, leaning against the wall he's on, settling finally. Kratos glances his way, before settling with his back to the party.

* * *

(1) No, not an actual hat.


	24. Shining Water

So. We're back! We've got all sorts of fun stuff. Yaaay 3 Messing with things so they go the way i have planned out in this word document-calander thing.....

Gods, i'm such a geek.

* * *

December 2nd

* * *

Aurian's still a little sluggish to get up, and not try to nap while walking, but other than that there appears to be no recollection of the incident in Luin. The Tower of Mana appears to be in heavily weathered shape from the outside. Raine's ecstatic to be even near the place. Piers seems to be excited also, staring at the tower.

"MARVELOUS!" Raine crows, running up to the locked door and running her hands over the stonework. "So this is the Tower of Mana... Built to gaze upon the Tower of Salvation!"

"Yes, I think it is." Colette follows, standing on the brickwork mini courtyard to the tower.

"... what's that?" Lloyd rubs inside an ear.

"Did you just ask what the Tower of Salvation was?" Piers asks incredulously.

"What?! No!" Lloyd's startled by that. "Tower of Mana!"

"Honestly, Lloyd!" Genis bemoans fate that one of his best friends was such an idiot. "We studied it in class before."

"It's a tower that was used as a temple by the Church of Martel to offer prayers to the Tower of Salvation." Colette explains while the party does a good job of ignoring Raine's Ruin Mode behind them. "Although, it was closed a long time ago since monsters started appearing inside." Colette finishes.

"I simply must go inside...!" Raine croons.

"We're here for Boltzmann's book." Kratos reminds them.

"It might be a seal." Colette points out.

"Saving the people of Luin from Kvar's ranch first." Lloyd says, and Colette nods, pulling out the key to the doors. Daichi yawns. He looks around, shivering lightly. Colette opens the door, and Raine visibly restrains herself from darting in. she is second in on the other hand. Inside.... is a library like place, as Sophia had hinted, with shelves on all walls to the eyelevel of Aurian and Shikka. Raine's thrilled.

"Wow! That's a lot of books!" Genis is just as thrilled, and the Sage sibs move to go look over them. Piers joins them. Daichi just wanders about, picking up a random book. Aurian sits down near Lloyd, who's curious enough to look at the book titles, but not curious enough to read, and starts dozing against the shelves.

After several hours of searching, or simply reading in the Sage Sibling's case, Colette trips.

"Ah!" on her way down, she flails for something to keep herself up, and pulls a single book off the shelf.

"...If that book is what I think it is..." Piers mumbles.

Kratos takes a look at the old tome while Lloyd helps Colette up. "If you thought it was Boltzmann's book... then you are correct." He passes it over to Raine when she reaches them.

Piers face-palms. "Colette, your klutziness is really lucky..."

"Now we can save Pietro." Genis says, looking at Raine as she reads.

"...No." she says, biting her lip.

Piers frowns, trying to read over Raine's shoulders. "Why not?"

"I need a tool to amplify my healing powers." Raine says, reading still. "I'll be barely able to use it without one..."

"What do you need?"

"A unicorn horn."

"...Fun." Daichi states. "Where are we gonna find a unicorn?"

"Lake Umacy." Genis says. "There are tales of people seeing one reflected in the lake."

"Reflected." Piers mumbles, thinking.

"So, we're going to Umacy now?" Aurian asks, ears twitching as she blinks awake.

"Looks that way." Daichi mumbles. Kratos remains silent, and Lloyd glances at him, but says nothing.

"All right." Raine closes Boltzmann's book. "There are no monsters in here. We should camp here for the night." Raine says, looking about.

"You want to do that so you can keep reading." Genis points out.

"Is that a crime?" Piers says, having an armful of books himself.

"No." Genis has a pair.

"be careful with them..." Kratos mutters, although it looks like he really didn't need to say that. Piers flops down, starting to read. Raine's transcribing from Boltzmann's book into one of her own journals, and Genis also has his nose in a book, so Lloyd shrugs and starts making dinner out on the courtyard, Kratos watching him from the railing while Colette and Sheena looked about yet and Aurian napped. Daichi just seems to be exploring, not picking any books up. He seems a bit bored. Colette cheerfully skips over to Daichi, and starts following him curiously. Daichi notices her, glancing back, but keeps wandering.

"Having fun?" She asks after a couple more minutes of following him like a puppy.

"Not really. All these dusty books are not my scene."

"oh." Colette doesn't appear to completely get it. Lloyd comes in trying to balance too many bowls. Daichi walks towards him, taking a few bowls from the top. Colette takes one that's less full, and Genis gingerly shakes Raine out of reading. Daichi sits cross-legged on the floor and eats. Piers doing the same. Raine tries to multitask eating and transcribing, and ends up stopping to eat quickly then get back to it. Aurian eats, then sleeps again. Shikka eats calmly, nomming like a cat. Lloyd and Kratos wander off to go clean the bowls and pot, while Aurian actually wakes to put herself in her bedroll. Daichi flops onto a bedroll, sighing. Raine's muttering about various healing techniques she can learn if she gets her hands on said unicorn horn, and seems very very pleased with the idea. Kratos is holding finished books, and putting them back into place. Piers is reading intently, making a pile of finished books. Kratos blandly puts everything back into the places they were found, while Lloyd watches with a weird expression, and Colette pretends to sleep while Sheena actually does so. Kratos blandly puts everything back into the places they were found, while Lloyd watches with a weird expression, and Colette pretends to sleep while Sheena actually does so. Raine eventually falls over, asleep on Boltzmann's book and her journal, while Lloyd nods off with the boredom of no one talking to him. Genis gets Raine off the ancient tome and puts a blanket over her, before retiring himself. Piers takes some books to his roll, reading until he passes out. Kratos makes a mildly annoyed noise, but settles against a wall to sleep as well.

* * *

December 3rd

* * *

They wake to find the door propped open and Kratos poking a fire into life outside. Raine goes back to her book immediately. As does Piers. Daichi wanders outside, sitting, sighing.

"Do you wish to cook?" Kratos asks after he gets the fire to a nice height, setting the tea pot next to the base. Colette's watching Aurian sleep with this curious expression on her face - the elf's ears were twitching like some animal's ears twitch while they sleep.

"Might as well." He says, going and stealing the bag of ingredients. Kratos nods and moves toward the edge, looking mildly broody as he stares off toward the east. Genis spots Daichi with the food bag and simply goes back to reading like Raine, while Lloyd begins the futile search for something will small words. Daichi makes coffee, hoping it will help him think. Daichi makes coffee, hoping it will help him think. Daichi smirks, remembering a recipe. He starts to cook. Colette grows bored of watching Aurian sleep, and joins Lloyd in looking for simpler books to read. Eventually, they sit by Piers, the Chosen pulling out a book in the Angelic language and attempting to teach Lloyd how to read it. Piers listens in, as he was supposed to be getting lessons. Shikka has a scroll in his own language. Daichi is using their surplus gels, heating them into a syrup. Colette turns to include Piers in the lessons, and Kratos wanders over to give his occasional input. Genis joins in as well, and Sheena seems to also be listening in. Piers and Genis seem to be quick studies. Lloyd still looks clueless. Daichi takes some sort of thin pancakes from the pan, taking the semi-gel like syrup and wrapping the pancakes around them. He makes two per person. Lloyd seems to be getting a quick grasp of writting the letters, however. Raine blinks, suddenly realizing everyone's up and about.

"... Something smells good." she comments.

"Well, thanks." Daichi says, handing out plates.

"Well. I know the meaning of one word in Angelic, at least!" Lloyd says, proudly.

"Is it a swear?" Daichi asks, handing Lloyd his plate.

"... Yes..."

Raine frowns at Kratos. "Why are you looking at me?"

"You taught him it."

"No, I muttered it."

"And he looked it up." Raine states. "Therefore you did just as bad as if you taught him."

"... True enough." Kratos mutters, before avoiding Raine's hand and grabbing a plate. Lloyd avoids Raine by mimicking Kratos, and Genis remembers that they've got someone still asleep and works on waking Aurian up. Piers wanders over, munching on a Crêpé.

"I can help." He states.

"Sure." Genis takes a step back. Lloyd's happy with this breakfast, and Colette munches her way through almost half of one. Piers' casting aura appears.

"Douse." He makes it rain above Aurian. Genis watches in awe.

"Its a shame I can't learn this magic." Aurian yelps, scrambling out of the wet to go press against a non-book covered wall and look about like she's wondering if she's under attack.

Raine thwacks Piers. "No making it rain in a library."

"Ow..." Piers mumbles. Genis laughs. Aurian calms and heads outside to claim breakfast. she has a look of misery about her that isn't helped by being wet.

Daichi frowns. "You okay?"

"... Cold." she mutters. "And wet. And lost a good dream." Colette offers the remainder of her food to try to cheer the elf up. Daichi hands her a towel, already planning seconds by using the remaining batter and syrup. Aurian puts it on her head to finish eating, before going over to the edge of the courtyard to dry herself. Lloyd watches as she prods her wet bedroll, then picks it up and puts on Piers, claiming Piers' dry one for herself. Piers blinks, sighing. He then draws all the water from it, coming up with quite a bit. Aurian wraps herself in her new bedroll, although she remains sitting and blinking occasionally up as if she expected it to rain suddenly on her again.

"... I think you confused her." Lloyd says, before hovering about Daichi for seconds. Piers throws some water at Lloyd, dumping the rest outside. Lloyd yelps, ducking a little too late, but enough not to get all the water Piers chucked at him.

"Boys.." Raine says warningly. Kratos is cleaning his plate off to one side, and returns it to Daichi as an indicator he's done, before he goes to neaten the library.

"Sorry." Piers says.

Daichi keeps batting Lloyd away. "Not done yet."

Lloyd sits where he can watch Daichi make the food. ".... where'd you get the syrup?" he asks, looking confused. "I didn't know we had any..."

"I melted some of the spare gels. So, any we don't eat, we can use as healing items." Lloyd stares at the syrup.

"..... no wonder my stiff shoulder went away." Lloyd mutters. Raine frowns.

"Whenever I try cooking with gels, it always turns out... less than satisfactory." she mutters.

"You gotta get the timings and temperature right. Leave it too long, and you burn the gel." Daichi points out.

"And don't use Lottery Gels." Genis points out.

"Or add them to stew." Lloyd says.

"Especially not with panacea bottles." Genis adds. Daichi chuckles. He has two leftover crêpés. One apple, one lemon. He wraps them up.

"Time to head out?" Raine can't help but glance at the lobby-library longingly.

"Yeah. Let's go see a Unicorn!" Sheena says, and Kratos shuts the library's doors. Aurian packs up the bedroll, and moves to the other side of the party from Piers. it seems she didn't like his wake-up.

* * *

December 7th

* * *

Genis dashes up hte hill, Colette, Piers and Lloyd in tow. The adults move at a slower pace. the lake and air is very clean, but then again, there isn't much about to make it not so.

Daichi wanders up, relaxing slightly. "So. What rumours are about this unicorn?"

"People see it in the lake. Legend has it that it will appear before a pure maiden." Kratos says, looking about. "that rules more than half of us out."

"Look!" Genis is bouncing on his heels, pointing into the lake. there's a pretty white-silver horse underwater.

"It's under the water!" Piers states, obviously.

"It's beautiful..." Colette mutters, staring at it.

"It's a unicorn!" Genis is ecstatic, and acting like the little kid he technically is. "Raine, it's a unicorn!"

"Yes, it is..." Raine says, but she's looking at the water about it. "But why is it..." Logs are on top of the spot where the Unicorn is, but not on the mythical beast itself. Lloyd's testing the water, and withdraws with a shiver.

"...It's ice cold!" He exclaims.

"Ice..." Piers mutters. "It must be frozen!"

"then it is like a prison of water." Kratos is frowning at the lake. "There's nothing we can do about it." Its likely he just wants to get back to killing Kvar.

"Then, we can't go see him.." Colette looks depressed at the thought. Aurian sits at the base of a tree.

"Can't you do something with your magic, Genis?" Lloyd asks.

"I can probably try something..." Piers says, thinking.

"I don't have that sort of manipulative magics. Piers might." Genis points Lloyd in the right direction. Piers coughs, standing on the shore of the lake. He gets the telltale blue aura about him. It looks like he's attempting to lift the frozen unicorn. The lake doesn't really budge, and neither does the unicorn. Raine watches him, growing a bit worried as the aura continues and nothing happens. Kratos looks like he's studying Piers again. Piers' aura slowly gets weaker and weaker. Soon it gives out, Piers stumbling slightly. He then promptly falls in the lake. Colette gasps, startled, but Lloyd's the one who jumps after Piers to pull him out. Kratos looks a little annoyed, as he pulls out blankets to use as towels. Lloyd successfully rescues Piers, shivering himself. Piers is passed out. Raine pulls them off to the side, getting them to strip so that they can be in dry new things that Kratos also fishes out. Genis and Colette start trying to skip rocks.

Lloyd helps re-dress Piers. "And he calls me an idiot."

"Says the one who jumped in after." Genis points out. "You could have grabbed him without jumping in. it was the shallows."

"...Shaddup." Kratos sighs as he takes the wet clothes and pokes sticks into them to set them next to the fire to dry.

"So.. Piers can't do it..." Raine frowns.

"... that leaves the power of a Summon Spirit." Genis muses. "But I'm not a summoner..."

"and the art's been lost..." Raine bites her lip.

"Umm.. Not really." Sheena rubs at her head.

Raine turns to Sheena. "...YOU'RE a summoner?"

"I'm a Guardian User. But I can Summon too." Sheena protests a little too strongly. "I haven't made a pact yet, but I know how to. If we find Undine, the Spirit of Water, I can form a pact, and then we can summon."

"Seems, again, too coincidental." Daichi comments.

"Well, Sorrrryy that I didn't show up and say 'hi, I'm a ninja assassin who might be able to summon, knows people who escaped from ranches and is a guardian user'. So if you don't want to, I'm not going to force you..." Sheena says.

"No, we need the Unicorn Horn." Lloyd says, drying his hair. Aurian's half-carried Piers over to Shikka, for Shikka is warm and she thinks Piers needs that. Shikka glomps him. Lloyd sits by Shikka and Piers.

"Undine should be at the Seal of Water." Sheena says, looking at Raine.

"Thoda Geyser, right?" Genis says. "Let's go!"

"Tomorrow." Raine says.

"Yeah. I'm sure we don't wanna face a Water summon without our Water mage..." Daichi points out.

"It will also take over a week to get there." Kratos doesn't sound happy with this detour. "We have to go to the other end of the continent."

"Fun." Daichi grumbles. Kratos turns the clothes the other way and sits off to one side in his broody way of his. Aurian's gone back to nap, and Lloyd joins in on skipping rocks. Daichi joins them, managing to skip one 6 times. Raine's reading her journal of Boltzmann's techniques this time, sitting near Piers and Shikka. Every few pages, she'd pause to check on Piers. Sheena looks uncomfortable, and wanders to look at the lake again. Shikka is still hugging Piers. The boy glows lightly drawing energy from the lake. Colette comes back to camp to make sandwiches for a 'picnic lunch'.

* * *

December 16th

* * *

Lloyd leads the way further into the Water Seal, back to the warp where the Seal Chamber was.

"Sheena. Please do that pact thing." Lloyd grins at her. Kratos is looking at her like he's studying her again.

"... Pact..." he mutters, looking off into the darkness of the room. Colette looks curious.

"... Okay, I'll do my best." Sheena looks nervous. "Although I'm a little scared..." she mutters. Piers also seems curious. Daichi seems tensed, ready for a fight. Sheena approaches the Altar. there's a sudden flash, and a purple haired, blue skinned woman appeared, with a sash of water floating about her.

"You who possess the right of the pact." Undine's voice carries well in the area. Aurian's trembling a little, ears flicking. "I am one who is bound to Mithos." Lloyd abruptly realizes that Undine isn't wearing a shirt, and turns pink. Piers and Daichi just stare. Not that there is any details. Kratos is disinterested, and Genis is snickering at Lloyd. "What is your name?" Undine's attention is only for Sheena. Lloyd blinks as words got past the teenage-boy fog that comes over at the sight of boobies.

"Mithos? the hero of the Kharlan War?" Lloyd asks.

"Not only was Mithos a swordsman, he had the ability to summon as well?" Genis is awed. Piers folds his arms, watching.

"Mithos is a common boy's name." Raine points out. "It's not necessarily Mithos the Hero."

"I am Sheena! I seek a pact with Undine!" Sheena announces.

"As things stand now..." Undine looks at the party as a whole. "I cannot."

"...Why not?" Daichi asks, distracted slightly.

"I am already bound by a pact." Undine says. "I cannot form, two pacts at the same time."

"You mean your pact with that Mithos guy...?" Sheena looks a little paniced. "what am I supposed to do now?! they never taught me anything about this!"

"Uhmmm... Can't you just get her to cancel the old pact?" Lloyd takes a moment to think this up, still pink-faced.

"There's bound to be some sort of condition on canceling the pact..." Piers mumbles.

"A Summon Spirit pact requires a Vow." Kratos says. "As long as the Pact-maker upholds that vow, the pact remains valid."

".. that is correct." Undine says.

"I know that. The spirit approves the vow and agrees to a pact." Sheena says.

"Exactly." Kratos crosses his arms, giving Sheena a look that says 'you should be smarter than this'. "therefore, all you need to do is follow Lloyd's advice, request the annulment of the previous pact and form a new one. It's possible the previous pact maker has broken his vow. Or he may have... already passed away."

"Quick question. How do we annul the pact?" Piers asks.

"You ask for it." Kratos says.

"... Is it really that simple?" Genis asks.

"I suppose you could call it simple, but if the previous pact-maker is still alive and hasn't broken his vow, then there's nothing we can do about it." Kratos abruptly clams up, like he's realized what he's been saying.

"..." Piers is contemplating, watching.

"Okay... I'll give it a shot." Sheena turns back to Undine, and visibly steadies her nerves. "Undine! I am Sheena! I ask that thou annulst thy pact with Mithos, and establish a new pact... with me." she falters a bit at the end as Undine looks at her. Daichi and Shikka watch with interest.

"Before I can allow the formation of a new pact, I must test your worthiness as a pact maker." Undine says. her water sash moves, and flows so that it was parallel to her right arm. "Draw your weapons."

"wha?" Lloyd is startled out of his fluster at boobies as the words kick in and Kratos draws his sword. ".. We have to fight?!" he hurriedly pulls his own blades out. There is a hurried readiness of weapons. Daichi settles into a ready stance.

"Let it begin!" The end of the water sash forms into the equivalent of a claymore, just out of water. Sheena hurriedly back flips into the party while Kratos lunges forward to clash with Undine's lunge. Genis is chanting, violet flickering about him, while Aurian looks like she's got a migraine. Daichi joins Kratos on the front line whilst Piers is concentrating on ice magic. Raine pulls Aurian back while Sheena gets seals ready, Lloyd finally joining in on the melee. Undine seems to want Kratos out of the way by the way she's attacking him.

"Wanna charge?" Genis shouts. "Spark wave!" Genis's spell is a little off, but manages to hit Undine, Lloyd Beast-ing her further into the spell. Piers is casting Frost, attempting to freeze the spirit. Her movements slow, stiffening and her sash freezes solid for a few moments, which Kratos takes to Lightning her while Raine First Aid's him, but it isn't long before she's retaliating, a blow sending Lloyd flying for Piers.

"Spread!" she shouts, the water spell forming as the Sage Siblings scatter.

"Angel Feathers!" Colette throws her Chakrams.

"Pyre seal!" Sheena slams a particularly nasty looking piece of paper to Undine.

"Ravaging Tiger!" Daichi unleashes the arte, slamming for Undine. Sheena's paper explodes, which knocks the spirit into Daichi's path, and Colette's Angel Mana-guided Chakrams slice at her back. Kratos steps back to continue casting lightning spells, while Lloyd joins in with Tiger Blade. Piers stands.

"Tundra!" He yells, forming ice missiles that fire at Undine. Undine is knocked back, when it looks like she's knocked off her feet by an invisible blow. Aurian's glowing with the 'I'm casting a spell' glow, as it looks like Undine is being smashed into the ground by gravity.

"Splash!" Undine casts, and Kratos avoids a water pitcher of water that proceeds to dump water on the area he'd been, dropping his spell.

"Demon Fang!" Daichi shouts, sending the shockwaves forth. Lloyd grins, and mimics Daichi from another angle, Aurian dodging another splash from Undine.

"Oh darkened storm cloud, loose thy blade and run mine enemy through!" Genis chants, his Kendama twirling. "Lightning Blade!" the large lightning formation falls and strikes Undine nearly in time with the Demon Fangs. Undine vanishes.

"D-Did we do it?" Piers asks. Undine reappears over the seal, drawing the instant reaction of tension from everyone but Kratos.

"Splendid." Undine says, her sash just a sash once again. "Now, swear your vow. Upon what vow do you form our pact?" Sheena looks startled.

"Right now, at this very moment, there are people who are suffering. I vow to save those people." Sheena says.

"Understood." Undine says after a moment. "I pledge my power to you, Sheena!" Undine vanishes and an Aquamarine drops to Sheena's hands, already on a ring.

"Sheena, you did it!" Genis cheers.

"Wow, Congratulations!" Colette smiles.

"Thanks!" Sheena's blushing. Raine yelps.

"Eh?" Lloyd blinks at her as she pulls out the Mythril bag.

"Piers! I thought you said this bag would protect me from the Star!" Raine turns on Piers.

"It is." He takes the bag, inverting it. The Star is glowing brightly. "Something's making it react..."

"but it stung me." Raine mutters.

"Okay! Now we can finally meet the unicorn." Lloyd grins, then glances at Colette. "... And maybe get Colette healed too." he mutters.

"It should heal...Wha...?!" The star emits a beam of light that fires into Piers' chest. The star hovers there as the mariner lets go, thrown to his butt.

"Eh?!" Lloyd and Genis run over to Piers. Kratos is watching the Star like he's not sure if he should attack it or just watch it. Mostly watch because Raine's scowling at him.

"Great Hero. I give thee a portion of my strength." A voice sounds. The star then drops to the ground.

Piers was knocked out, but sits with a groan. "Ow..."

"Great hero?" Lloyd repeats, looking confused. "You're a hero?!"

"Like Mithos?!"

"Why didn't you tell us?!"

"That's awesome!"

Piers double-takes, sweat-dropping. "I-uh...." Raine and Kratos have a tiny conversation that reveals Kratos knew someone who knew a bit about Summoning, before the mercenary heads out, looking a bit twitchy. Aurian still looks like she's got some sort of bad headache, aka, miserable. Lloyd looks a tiny bit put out, but Genis and Colette are thrilled. Piers quickly grabs the star, tying it securely to his belt before bolting to avoid more questions. he nearly runs into Kratos, who's just standing outside the warp staring to the south west. Kratos looks at him like he's trying to mentally categorize him again.

"Still a mariner!" He yells, running past Kratos to hide in the water for now. Kratos snorts, walking forward just as the rest of the party, lead by Genis and Colette, head out of the warp. Despite the fact that Aurian had not come in contact with any of Undine's spells, she's damp and not pleased with this fact. Genis looks about for Piers, and Kratos indicates the water pool on the way out. Piers is sitting on the bottom of the pool, cross-legged, eyes closed. Genis stops by the edge of the pool, staring at him.

"... think he knows we're leaving?" Genis asks.

"We could drop a rock in to let him know." Lloyd offers. Piers opens his eyes, resurfacing.

"Water carries sound better than air." He points out, shaking himself to dry off.

"Ah!" Lloyd yelps as Piers gets him wet, but follows Kratos out. He's got this thoughtful look on his face as he studies Aurian, who seems to magically gotten more wet despite not being near Piers. She's as confused as Raine is by this.

"...I didn't do it." Piers says.

"...." Raine gives him a look that says that saying that makes him more suspicious. Lloyd's running ahead of their little almost-walking formation.

"... Lloyd." Kratos has moved to near Aurian. "Come back." Lloyd looks confused, but does so. the next moment has Kratos grabbing Aurian's wrist, the elf giving a smothered yelp, and then a feeling like you're not there, but there, then they're in the shallows in the shadow of a familiar tower. The Tower of Mana.

Piers yelps in pain. "Owowowowow! It burns!" Aurian falls over, and Kratos staggers, letting her go to hold his head.

"What did you do?!" Raine snaps, grabbing Aurian before she's underwater for too long.

"Warped." Kratos croaks it, staggering to shore. Lloyd looks dazed, and Colette helps Raine with Aurian, who's unconscious. Piers dives into deeper waters. Once Aurian's on dry land, Raine turns to yell at Kratos, but he's already fallen over. Lloyd notices this and sits next to him.

"... he's still awake." Lloyd notes with a bit of surprise, peering at Kratos.

"Good." Raine says, and hits Kratos's head.

"Uh...Guys? I think Piers is dead..." Daichi says, noting that the mariner hasn't surfaced in 5 minutes.

"but there's been no bubbles." Genis points out, although he does look worried too. "Aren't there supposed to be bubbles when someone's drowning?"

"I could look for him." Colette offers.

Shikka joins them. "I don't think Sir Piers is dead."

Daichi frowns. "So the weirdo can now breathe under water?"

"Seems that way." Raine talks to Shikka to get him to be a heat blanket for Aurian again while Sheena sort of seems to be spazing about the ability to warp. Shikka shifts into Lion and lies on Aurian. Noishe is nosing Kratos, who's grumbling at him to stop but not moving yet. Shikka joins in on the nosing, still able to cover Aurian. Kratos rolls over to give them a glare that isn't particularly effective because he's still sort of just lying there limply. Lloyd's starting dinner because Genis is too busy watching the water.

Piers eventually surfaces. "Are you staring at me?"

"You're all right!" Colette cheers.

"...Did I say I wasn't?"

"you didn't say anything before you stayed underwater for an impossibly long time." Genis points out. Aurian's trying to wriggle out from under Shikka now.

Shikka reverts after a time, rolling off Aurian. "Hi."

She blinks at him. "... Hi?"

"Food." Lloyd's got plates of potato salad and pork-steak.

* * *

Yaaaay.


	25. Through the Back Door

So. a bit of a skip. we're at Kvar's place now. You know, sneaking through the 'ecsape route...' "eh?" '... nothing.. .most places like this have an emergancy exit.' that bit. we're skipping a little further, but **shrug**.

In anycase, there's a warning in this chapter. It's down a bit. You shouldn't be able to miss it.

* * *

December 21st

* * *

"We need to split up into two groups." Raine says, showing the paths on the holographic screen. "One group to take out Kvar, who is blocked off due to a locking mechanism. The second group will take care of the locking mechanism while rescuing the.. prisoners." They knew now. Experiments, or Hosts, was the name to call the people at the ranch. Prisoners felt better to say. "Colette... you choose." Daichi was looking a bit edgy, wondering when they'd round on him with questions. Colette blinks, and turns, looking over them all. Kratos was smiling, through the blood of the unfortunate two Desians that had gotten in their way, his eyes bright. Lloyd was looking about, mostly on the second door, then her. Genis was watching Raine and the computer, and Raine and Sheena were watching her. Aurian was looking anywhere but at her or the others, or the door. Shikka was looking kinda pensive, in lion form, blood on his paws. Piers was clean, but Daichi was as splattered as Kratos.

"Umm..." Kratos's abstract attention shifted to Colette, and she shivered. "How about... Lloyd chooses!" she looked ashamed and relieved when Kratos's attention shifted to Lloyd. There definitely seemed something not right with the man now. Lloyd blinks as he realizes Colette shifted the responsibility to him, again, and thinks.

"I'm on Kvar's team." Lloyd says, taking a step or two over.

"I'm with Lloyd. I can elemental shift to Spirit Magic." Piers says. Kratos takes a few steps, and stands very pointedly next to Lloyd.

"Uh, yeah, Kratos and Piers with me." Lloyd looks at the rest, thinking. "Genis, you and the Professor on the other team. We'll need the smarts and healing for them.... Shikka, you and Daichi too, on that team." Lloyd looks at the remaining three. "Colette... please go with the Sages." Colette blinks and smiles, moving.

"What about Aurian and Sheena?" Piers asks.

"With us." Lloyd says, sighing. "Aurian's been here, before, once that she remembers, and Kvar's said that he caught her. I don't think he'd lie about that, it's his job... so, if we get lost..." Aurian is clinging to her glaive, but she moves over.

"I can find.. him again.." she was still clearly scared of Kvar.

Piers pulls out his staff. "Let's go..."

"Wait." Raine says. "It's nearly midnight, and we've been up since dawn." Kratos blinks, seemingly coming back to the real world by the way his smile drops away. "We should hole up for the remainder of the night." Aurian blinks rapidly, and then moves for one of the doors.

"Why do these ranches have so many weird systems?" Lloyd shouts, annoyed as he cuts down a robot, following Aurian.

"It feels like this one has even more annoying ones than the others..."Kratos mutters, slicing through a Desian.

"It's to prevent intruders."Raine sighs."It's only natural that it's designed to prevent easy progress."

"but we don't have time to be goofing around here!" Lloyd shouts.

Daichi rolls his eyes. "Get me to a terminal, I'll see what I can do about the automated systems."

"It would be so much easier if we could simply cut our way through..." Kratos's voice has an odd note to it as he says this. The smile was back.

"Settle down, both of you." Raine snaps. "What's wrong, Kratos? This isn't like you." Kratos blinks at her, and abruptly drops the smile, but his eyes are still a vivid red. Both swordsmen are silent. "Daichi, we'll see about that in the morning." Daichi grunts in acknowledgement, looting a corpse.

"that Kvar guy has to pay." Lloyd mutters. "That's all."

"Indeed." Kratos sounds a bit more of his normal now. "We cannot allow him to remain unchecked."

"At any rate, you must stay calm, and don't do anything rash." Kratos blinks as something he would normally say comes from Raine, but they reached Aurian. A storage room.

Daichi instantly heads to a crate. "Jackpot." He mumbles, pulling a bottle of pills out. the rest merely make themselves as comfortable as possible, although when Kratos starts pulling out his bedroll, Raine stops him.

"Clean up." Kratos apparently hadn't noticed he was bloody, and with a blink, moves off to a corner to take care of what he could without raiding a Desian bathroom. Aurian curls up in a corner, holding her head. she is not happy with being here. Shikka settles in the centre of the room, cleaning himself, purring lightly. Colette moves to go sit with Aurian, trying to cheer her up. Lloyd's cleaning, and sharpening his blades, and when Kratos has cleaned himself up, he does the same, with his long sword, a shorter one from his pack, and a set of daggers. Raine tells Daichi to do the same before he pulls out his bedroll. Daichi uses Aqua to clean himself. Piers snuggles against Shikka. After a while, when most of the room seems to be asleep, or as asleep as they can get in the current situation, Kratos gets up.

"Going to get re.... go to the bathroom." he mutters. His eyes are bright red in the dim glow that Aurian's magic has created.

Daichi watches, the pills beginning to affect him. "It's not safe to go alone..."

Kratos was smiling again. "I'll be more than fine." he mutters, a little too cheerily, as he slips out. Daichi seems emotionless. it takes hours for Kratos to return, and when he does, he's got a nice amount of blood on him. and the smile was getting wider.

"What were you doing?" Daichi asks.

"I couldn't find a bathroom." Kratos says, a little cheerily. "But I ran into some fun."

"You went to kill. Were you followed?"

"I killed them too." Kratos says with a shrug, the smile staying in place. he started humming a tiny bit, something that sounded like 'happy birthday', his attention wandering to something that wasn't real to the rest of them. Daichi frowns, his normally green eyes showing hints of red. For all intents and purposes, Kratos leaning against the crate he had chosen to do so against, was asleep, with a smile and blood on his face, and traces of 'happy birthday' being hummed from time to time.

* * *

December 22nd

* * *

Raine wasn't thrilled when she woke and found that Kratos was bloody again, but Kratos refused to clean himself on the grounds of 'why bother? I'll be getting bloody again shortly.' Raine scowled, but Genis quickly interrupted them with a handful of fruits and breads for breakfast. They weren't going to risk trying to cook anything. Daichi isn't hungry. Nor has he slept. Kratos took an apple, but once they had turned around, he stuffed in it his pack. Lloyd ate a bit, though not as much as he normally would, and Aurian ate a piece of bread. Colette ate the crust off one, and then passed it to Lloyd. Genis ate his normal amount, under Raine's watchful eye. Piers and Shikka eat normally.

"Kvar team, wait an hour after killing him to destroy the ranch, and set a silent 30 minute timer. That way, we'll be sure that we'll all be out of the ranch in time." Raine says. Kratos was staring at the door, a hand over his smile, Lloyd and Sheena nod at her instructions, and Aurian was twitching, looking everywhere but at them. "If you aren't out by tomorrow, we'll come for you." Piers is serious for once, Daichi emotionless.

"Ok."

"All right."

"y-yes."

"..."

".. let's get going." Raine sighs, the lights winked out and then the parties split. Aurian, her ears flicking, lead the way, as Kratos killed every single Desian within his reach. Lloyd was watching him warily, apparently having finally noted the man's smile and bright red eyes. Sheena made sure to be one person away from him. Piers, although saving his magic for later, used defensive spells. they reach a room with a inactive teleportation pad. Lloyd walks over, an stomps on it.

"Nope. Still locked." Kratos appears to be humming to himself. Lloyd gives him a wary glance. "Hey, you all right?" Kratos blinks over and down at him, his smile flickering, but then staying strong.

"Yes. Everything is all right." Kratos says, looking about the room.

Piers sighs. "How do reactivate the pad?"

"that's what Raine's team is for." Sheena says. "The computer said there was a lock to Kvar's location, this must be the lock."

"..um.." Aurian was pointing to a door that had just opened.

"..." Kratos looks at it, and Lloyd grins.

"He's through there!" Lloyd runs for it, and it starts closing.

"Lloyd! Wait!" Piers runs after. Lloyd lunges through the gap before Kratos can do more than turn and take a step, Aurian shouting that Kvar was a crazy bastard, and he wanted Lloyd, so Lloyd shouldn't go, and Sheena whirling, startled. Piers manages to get through the gap too, stumbling, using his staff to balance. The door slams shut behind them. Once it shuts, Aurian's voice vanishes, as does any footsteps from the others.

Lloyd gets up, and thumps on it. "Hello?"

Piers grunts, dazed. "Fool." No response. Lloyd thumps it once more, before turning, and offering a hand to Piers.

"well.. Hallway. One way to go now." he looks down it, and draws one of his blades. Piers rolls his eyes, following Lloyd. Lloyd draws the other one.

* * *

Kratos stared at the door, his smile faltering. Aurian was looking quickly about, her wide eyes flicking across the walls. ".. you know a way on." Aurian flinched, and nodded. "Show me." She nods again, and rushes for a point at the wall, her thin hands working.

* * *

The hall is long, with no doors, no windows, and no Desians. Eventually, a door at the end. Piers is tensed. "I hope you know what you're doing Lloyd..."

"Finding Kvar." Lloyd says. The door opens before Lloyd gets close enough to touch it. Pillars of glowing liquid cast an eerie green glow in the room, ranks and ranks of them. Lloyd steps in, and then gasps. Humans, in the ratty clothes and metal collars of the ranch prisoners, floated in them, their faces pained.

The staff Piers holds glows with the spirit energy. It glows darker than usual. "These people have suffered..." Other than the tubes with humans in them, there doesn't seem to be any sort of lighting in the room, nor anyone else in it. The other end has a row of 7, smaller pillars, one thick one the center.

"this... what.. is this...?" Lloyd's walking down the aisle. "They're... humans..."

"This is the factory." a cold, formal voice calls out.

"Factory? For Exspheres?"

"Of course." A man walks from behind the largest pillar, holding a ring-headed staff, clad in dark blue, with gold shoulder pads, and bloody red gloves. His hair was platinum blond - Kvar. "You must remember your last visit - Exsphere's, those very stones you use, are born from human lives. This is where I trade the worthless for that with worth."

"I don't use Exspheres. And Lloyd doesn't abuse the sacrifice." Piers says. Lloyd has looked aside at the wrong moment - one of the men next to him gave out a breathe of bubbles, a dark blue gem burrowing out of his neck.

"I should hope not. That is my Angelus Sphere he's using. My perfect Exsphere." his dark eyes flick to one side as a projector opens and shows a busty green haired woman.

"... So this is Lloyd." the woman says. "I see, he does bear a resemblance."

"Angelus... Isn't that what Kratos asked Daichi about?" Piers whispers to Lloyd.

"Kratos asked Daichi about something called Angelus?" Lloyd asks, looking confused.

"I'm glad you can get back to me, but I wish you wouldn't change the subject, Pronyma! It's clear you've been stealing research data from my Angelus Project!"

"I grow tired of your accusations, Kvar. As I have told you, I know nothing of it."

Piers rolls his eyes. "When we first met up with them."

"If that was in Triet, then I wasn't there." Lloyd reminds Piers.

"Stubborn woman. I suppose I should expect no less from one who usurped the leadership of the Five Grand Cardinals." Kvar continues. "Take heed, Pronyma. Once I retrieve the Exsphere from this inferior being, I will become the Leader of the Five Grand Cardinals. When that happens, you'll be begging for my forgiveness."

"Oh, yeah. You were playing in the ambiguously camp fortress."

".. ambiguously camp...?" Lloyd asks, confused.

"You speak nonsense, Kvar. I've also heard that Rodyle has talked you into joining him in one of his schemes. But it would be best not to believe you can deceive Lord Yggdrasill for long." she vanishes.

"So, the Mana Cannon is no longer a secret." Kvar mutters. "Well, it doesn't matter."

"Yeah. Suspiciously gay, in other words."

"Oh! do you have any cousins with blue hair in a pony tail like this." Lloyd puts a blade away to mime having his hair in a flop over his right eye, then in a tail down to his ass. "that wear cloaks black on the outside, and bright red on the inside, with gold tassels on the lower edge?"

"Once I get that Exsphere..." Kvar looks at the teens.

"You'll look fabulous?" Piers asks.

"Naw, his face is too ugly." Lloyd says. "But this guy, he had blue hair. and you're the only one I know with blue hair, so you're probably related. Except he was all 'Next time we meet, Lloyd Irving, you'll be mine.' Shikka thinks his taste in clothes is too bad to be related to you."

"..." Kvar has a throbbing temple.

"I am inclined to agree. Too golden. Yuk."

"Wait. are we talking about Kvar, or this guy I met at the ... 'ambiguously camp fortress'? Because I was talking about the guy there. but yeah, all that blue and gold don't go together. Silver'd be better. even with all the white lining." Lloyd says, looking at Kvar. "It also clashes with his hair. White hair and gold shoulder things... not so good."

"Yeah. Kvar IS a fashion disaster." Piers mutters. "I prefer my villains to have a sense of style."

"Magnius was ok. Although, the tiny vest didn't look that good on him, and neither did the dreadlocks." Lloyd says, tapping his chin and thinking. "the purple and tan wasn't too good, but it's a bit hard to go back to pale, if you're tan."

"Once I succeed in retrieving that Exsphere, any suspicions I might have been under will be but a distant memory." Kvar says loudly.

"Oh! How rude. We are TALKING!"

"and the fashion police will still remember you!" Lloyd shouts back. "You won't be cleared from those suspicions!"

"Also, we aren't the ones who started talking to someone else. Are you always this rude to guests?"

"Maybe that's what all the security systems are for!" Lloyd says gleefully. "To entertain his guests, cause he sucks at it!" Kvar grits his teeth.

"I'm sorry, Voldemort, are we annoying you?"

"who's Voldemort?" Lloyd asks. "I was thinking Orochimaru, but his hair wasn't long enough. Kabuto?"

"Enough!" Kvar shouts, lightening arcing off his weapon as he slams the pointed but of it into the floor. "I will have that Angelus Sphere for Lord Yggdrasill!"

Piers assumes a battle position. "Lloyd! I'll provide magic support!"

"Got it." Lloyd mutters, before drawing his second blade again. "You're not going to take this from me!" Lloyd charges. "You're not going to take mom from me again!" Kvar dodges easily, landing atop his pillar.

"You've got it wrong." he's still polite-sounding, but he's also plainly furious. "I didn't kill Anna. It wasn't me." Three floating machines warp into place behind him.

"Guarda!" A light aura surrounds Lloyd and himself, preparing to deflect spells... Slightly.

"Your father killed her."

"Lies!" Lloyd shouts, charging for Kvar again, preparing to leap. "You turned her into a monster, you forced dad to kill her! You killed her!" Kvar snaps his fingers, and in mid jump, Lloyd gets blasted by lightening from the three Energy Stones. Lloyd quickly brings his blades together to block, but gets sent back to earth anyway.

"Shadowa!" Piers reacts with a blast of shadows aimed directly at Kvar. Kvar moves his left hand, and one of the Energy Stones cuts off its attack to intercept Piers's. The lightening Lloyd was blocking continues past him, racing down the hall of tubes, and shatters the first rank. the humans fall limply out among shards of glass.

"Explosa!" Piers tosses a glowing orb at Kvar. It explodes on contact with anything. Kvar frowns at him, as the Energy Stones fly into a triangle to blast Lloyd again, and the Cardinal drops from his perch. Lloyd takes the hit, and yelps, getting sent flying down the hall behind him, loosing grip of one blade, which flew, quite naturally, to the other side of the room. the other thudded into the ground next to him as he skidded.

"Lloyd!" Piers yells. "Groundara!" Blasts of rock fire at Kvar.

"Spark Wave." Kvar swings his scepter to point at Piers, casting the third level Lightening spell at the boy. A ball of it forms around Piers and seeks to lift him. he walks forward, avoiding a few of the Groundara rocks, but taking a few hits besides. "Exspheres that grow inside a human cannot be removed." Kvar says, stopping before the hall where Lloyd lay. "A-012 transformed into a monster." Guarda and Piers' GC remaining from Lloyd absorb some of the damage, but the teen is pitched into the ground. "she lost her mind."

"Shut up!" Lloyd screams, staggering to a stand.

"And that's when-"

"-SHUT UP!"

"-Your father killed her." Kvar finishes with a malicious smile.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Lloyd runs back at Kvar, but he only has one blade, so his normally quick attacks had massive holes in them that Kvar calmly exploited, stepping into Lloyd's right side where there wasn't a blade. Piers slowly gets to his feet.

"Gr... Deluge!" He blasts forth the torrent.

"Lightning strike." Kvar swings his scepter, knocking Lloyd into the path of the water, and then three consecutive lightning bolts knock him back. Lloyd screams, his limbs convulsing as the lightning was boosted by the water. Piers grunts in surprise. Lloyd manages to remain standing, but he's got cuts over him now.

"Just.. die!" Lloyd screams, charging Kvar again with his one blade. he was crackling now, little tiny sparks of turquoise as his Exsphere, or Angelus Sphere, shone clear indigo. Kvar finally parries, then while Lloyd was reeling from the impact of metal on metal, Kvar slams the butt of his staff into Lloyd's solar plexus. Piers groans, sinking to his knees. Lloyd chokes, losing his breath.

"Don't worry." Kvar says, holding his scepter steady. "the completed Exsphere was unharmed. that's why..." Kvar pulled his scepter back, and Lloyd slouched to get his breath back, his coat staining darker. "there's no need to hesitate!" Kvar spins his scepter and catches Lloyd across the face with it. Lloyd yells, and is knocked completely off his feet.

"D-Diamond Dust!" Kvar snarls, using his scepter to block a good many of the shards of ice, but his clothes get rips as well. The next attack on Lloyd, however, came from the Energy Stones, and Lloyd screams again, but keeps his grip on the blade he had.

"Nuisance..." Kvar says, glaring at Piers. "Thunder Blade." Piers yells out, losing consciousness.

"Damn you!" Lloyd grunts, lightening crackling off him, but his own have stopped.

"Now, show me more of its power." the Exsphere's light immediately dies as Lloyd struggles to get his body to work. "...Inferior being.." Kvar walks over, and firmly plants his foot on Lloyd's left hand. "I guess an insect and an insect can only create another insect." Lloyd has no comment. that hurt pretty bad. "Thanks to trash like you, the Angelus Project was delayed."

"Don't... make fun.. of my mom... and dad!" Lloyd grunts, and manages to sit up. he grabs onto Kvar's pants for all of a few seconds before his grip fails, leaving a bloody stain on Kvar's knee. Kvar doesn't like this, but he grins. he kicks Lloyd back down, and stands on his other wrist.

"Die!" Kvar raises his scepter, intending to stab Lloyd with the butt of it, when a bit of glass draws a thin line of blood on one cheek before clattering to the floor behind him. Kvar is distracted. Another piece of glass hits his shoulder thing, and the third he catches, his eyes finding the thrower. "There you are." Kvar steps off Lloyd with twists of his heels. Aurian scrambles back over the bodies. Aurian flings another piece of glass, her fingers bloodied from the edges, and scrambles further back as Kvar knocks it aside and continues heading for her.

"I remember you." Kvar says. "You are the elf. the one who can't even remember it's name." She continues moving backwards, her eyes on him as her hands search for more glass. "Can't remember magic, either?" she freezes. "you don't." Kvar laughs. "A mere six score years without being able to touch Mana, and you've completely forgotten! Left to mere mundane ways of defense. Hah!" Kvar casts a Lightening right behind her, and the blast sends her skidding past him. "... Although, this means you still have that Exsphere, doesn't it." Kvar doesn't turn around. "Perhaps I shouldn't kill the three of you. Finish my Angelus Project, use the mage boy as a new test for it, and finish your Exsphere..." Aurian looks horrified as she gets back up, and she notices something within her reach as Kvar turns and advances. the elf wraps her blood slick fingers around the hilt of Lloyd's other blade.

"Stop." it was very quiet, but Kvar heard her, and continued. "Go away!" Aurian holds Lloyd's blade incorrectly as she charges, Lloyd rolling over with a groan to see her attempt to slash at Kvar. He blocks it easily, using Lightning Strike as his counter, knocking her back and down among the glass.

"Aurian! Get out of here!" Lloyd tries to get up, but fails. Aurian doesn't seem to hear him, as she gets up, glass falling to the floor with blood as fire flickers in spurts down her blade, her own blood not helping it stay lit.

"Ah, you're gaining it back." Kvar sounds pleased as Aurian slouches a little. "Get angry, get stronger. The Exsphere will grow faster." She charges him again, holding the blade better, and manages to knick his arm. He bashes her in the ribs like he had Lloyd in the face. Aurian flies for one of the rows of unbroken cylinders, the one she hits cracking. "Spark Wave." It shatters over her with the help of the lightning spell, pulling her off her feet. She manages to remain silent for a little bit, before she dropped the blade and screamed, suspended in the spell. It drops her, slick with blood and tank fluid. She starts getting up, glass sticking to her, lightening arcing and vanishing from her, fire flickering in the air for Kvar. The cardinal swings his scepter, and banishes the flames. Sheena drops down next to Lloyd, grabbing him and his blade and moving over to Piers.

"Need to get you two somewhere..." Sheena says, landing next to Piers. The teen is still limp. Another Spark Wave fires, Aurian once more its focus, although the elf was close enough that the twin blade's and ninja's hair. She collapses again, and Kvar steps close to kick the blade from her bloody grasp, and out of her reach. Sheena lets go of Lloyd, who was searching feebly through his pockets for a Life Bottle for Piers, and charges Kvar. Without looking, the cardinal swings, and hits her firmly in the gut.

"You are of no interest." Kvar says, without glancing at her as she is thrown back to fall holding her gut. "Humans like you are ten Gald a dozen. Elves, on the other hand..." Kvar kicks the thin woman over, pressing his boot firmly on her chest. She grimaces, making only a slight noise of pain as he digs his heel in. "Elves are rare, especially when the world is declining so..." Lightening arcs off him again, singing Aurian, and she flinches as small burns dot across her pale skin, but makes no more sound than pained breathing. "They start dying off, when there is so little Mana. It weakens them." Aurian was definitely struggling to breathe as he rested more of his weight on her, her fingers curling as she moved them slowly for his foot. He fixed that, resting his full weight on her ribcage to slam his other foot down on her left arm, a sharp crack sounding with a pained yelp from the elf, before he stood normal again, her arm beneath his foot. "... Of course, if it is a weak creature, the Exsphere may not mature properly... It might be best to simply take it now.." Kvar's scepter had a pointed end, with only a slight amount of blood from when he had injured Lloyd, and he drags it now across Aurian's right shoulder, ripping through her shirt, thin armor, undershirt, and into her thin body. She jerks, hissing, trying to twist away, but Kvar stamps on her broken limb, applying more pressure to her chest. The thin woman's rib's creak, and she stops struggling to twist away, struggling instead to breathe, squeezing her eyes closed. With the butt of his scepter, Kvar cuts another line in her shoulder, pulling back the edge of the slashed cloth and armor to show the red, golden swirled Exsphere set in scars on the woman's shoulder, scars like runes splayed about it.

"Demon Fang!" Lloyd has managed to get at least to one foot and a knee, firing off a week attack technique with his one blade. Kvar moves just so to let Aurian take the blow, and casts Lightning on Lloyd while he flinched at the damage he dealt to his already weak friend. With a yelp, he falls back, twitching.

"Stay out of this boy." Kvar flicks his attention to the human, and then back to the elf. "I will deal with you in a moment." Having stepped off Aurian freed her, and she struggled to roll over and crawl away, but Kvar kicked her again, pinning her on her back once more. She grunts as he presses down again, staring at him through the blood that tried to cloud her vision. "Maybe you'll turn into a monster, like the boy's mother. Pitiful, to travel with a time bomb such as yourself. Maybe the shock of having to kill you will finish his Exsphere." Aurian didn't seem to be able to hear him.

"Fire..." it was soft, from the elf, as Kvar nudged the gem in her shoulder, but sparks flew, from within and from the flames that erupted about them. The cardinal recoils, singed, chipping the gem and then Aurian shrieks, the flames raging larger. Lloyd struggles to get up again, Sheena moving closer to him and Piers as the liquid, fluids from the tank and blood from Lloyd, and Aurian, hissing as it boiled on the spot from the flames. The flames dance as they fly for Kvar, Aurian struggling, her limbs refusing to work quite right, coiling into a ball.

"Spark Wave!" Kvar casts the spell once again, and Aurian screamed, her battered voice rising in pitch until it abruptly cut off, the spell continuing until it drops the thin elf to the ground, her hair stained crimson. "Damn elf..." Kvar got no further, a dark violet shape ramming into him, blade tearing into his right shoulder, too high to do any lasting harm.

"Otanjoubi.."Kvar gives a sharp cry of pain, the whispered word nearly completely hidden as the cardinal falls to the ground with the shadow on top of him.

"Oh. Hello there, _Kvar._" The mercenary's voice would have better suited Lloyd, cheerful but for the twist on the Cardinal's name, barely contained hate concealed there. Kratos's hands twist their grip on the hilt of his blade, the gloves cut, soaked with blood. Blood dripped from rents in the man's clothes, in the light armor underneath, and the crimson liquid was splattered across his face, on the teeth he showed in a smile, under the eyes of the same color that held an inner, unbalanced light. "I'm afraid I didn't _see_ you there..." Kratos twists the blade, bone cracking inside of Kvar as he turns the blade from horizontal to vertical. Kratos leans close, his eyes dancing, grin wide on his face as Kvar yells with pain.

"Did you _miss_ me?" Lloyd shudders at Kratos's hiss, hearing it clearly despite the other man's scream. Aurian was still but for twitching limbs, electricity still playing off her. Sheena too watched in horror as Kvar's shoulder gave a sick noise, ripping of flesh and cloth, cracking bone as Kratos forces his blade free – the limb forever ruined at the joint, but still attached. Kratos straitens from his slouched forward position on Kvar's torso, standing as he pulled the mage up by the ruined limb. Kvar gets to his feet with a smaller cry of pain, and Kratos nods, seemingly sympathetic despite the wide grin and twisted light to his eyes. Kvar's cries rise in pitch as more flesh tears, bone creaking once more as Kratos jerks the limb away, ripping it from the cardinal's body. Kratos watches Kvar dispassionately for a second as the man claps a hand to his profusely bleeding shoulder, before regarding the limb in his hand, then threw it over his shoulder like the trash he obviously thought it was. Lloyd flinches as the limb thumps to the ground not far from him, staring in horror.

**

* * *

**

HERE IS THE WARNING.

THAT WAS A LITTLE TASTE OF WHAT THE REST OF THE CHAPTER IS.

If you don't like gore, mutilation, torture...

**..very, **_**very**_**, **_**very**_** slow death...**

**Skip to the next chapter.**

**That's all this chapter has left. **

**SCROLL BACK UP IF YOU DON'T LIKE GORE, AND CLICK NEXT CHAPTER. **

**I'll give you who skipped a brief 'this is what happened' at the start of the next, but for those who like this sort of thing....**

**Enjoy. **

* * *

"Fire." Kratos said the same thing Aurian had, his voice still excited and cheerful, at odds with the mad smile and glint in his eyes, the indication of his hand at Kvar's steadily bleeding shoulder. The cardinal yells, jerking away from the flames that sear his side, but the blood flow ends. The stench of burning flesh and cloth make Lloyd gag and Sheena twitch, but Kratos's crazed smile never shifts. Kvar makes a gasping, choked noise that quickly becomes a cry of rage, his left hand switching its grip on his scepter, swinging the bladed head into Kratos's side. Kratos grunts slightly, catching the pole against his arm, taking a gash from the bladed ring. Lightning arcs down and off the pole arm, racing up the mercenary's arm, his bloodied hair shifting to rise, but his wide smile stays constant.

"Bad boy." Kratos breathes, batting away Kvar's scepter with his right hand and sword, knocking it from the mage's weakened grip, smiling as he shakes out his hand, lightning flicking and arcing off. "_I'm_ going to have the fun here." Kvar takes a half step back as those crimson eyes remain locked on him, the madness inside the man clear now as he takes a matching half step forward, the tip of his long sword weaving back and forth. Kvar's narrow eyes flick from the taller man's face to the blade, and the next thing he knew, Kratos's hand was about his neck. Kvar chokes a noise out as Kratos lifts him, then spins and hurls the smaller male toward the remaining cylinders of Human Hosts. The Cardinal crashes into the tubes of his creations, shattering one on top of him, the human inside collapsing out. Kratos stepped on the glass, crunching it beneath his boots as he walks for Kvar as the mage shoved aside the human with his one arm, grimacing at the glass cutting into his back. With the ever present smile, Kratos leaned and gripped Kvar about the neck once more, blood slicked fingers tightening around the half elf.

"Not... to a damn.. human!" Kvar choke out, gripping Kratos's arm with his remaining hand. "Spark Wave!" Kratos grunts as the spell fires, staggering to keep his balance as cylinders rupture around the two men, the mercenary's grip on the Desian Cardinal's neck failing as electricity played havoc on his system. Kvar pulls back once released, quickly picking his way away from the insane mercenary, before turning and running for his scepter.

"Where are you going, Kvar?" Kratos's shield flies, sending blood flicking through the air as it hums, and hits Kvar squarely in the back. Kvar yelps, falling forward, and Kratos slowly makes his way over to the Cardinal, peppered with glass shards, leaving bloodied footprints. He regards the scepter first, bending to pick it up, then hurling the weapon to the wall. Lloyd and Sheena flinch at the loud noise, glad that it was the opposite wall, the scepter falling to the ground as some electricity arcs from the taller male, his movements occasionally jerky rather than deadly, predatory grace. Kvar gets to his feet, looking wild as his neat hair was no longer so, his strange colored eyes wide and fixed on Kratos before he tries to reach his scepter, turning his back to the man. Kratos lightly catches up to him, his blade flicking out before him to slice through the back of Kvar's right leg, neatly cutting the hamstring. Kvar yelps, falling down, before scrambling to continue forward. Still smiling, Kratos leisurely catches up with the man as he tries to crawl away.

"I have been looking forward to this..." Kratos says, almost like a sigh, his grin staying put. "For so many years..." Lloyd stares and Sheena frowns at the strange note in Kratos's disturbingly cheery voice, a slight flux, quaver, as something other than words tried to come out as they regrouped near Piers, who had yet to do anything, moving away from the mad mercenary. Then the man brings his heel down sharply on the inside of Kvar's knee, bone cracking and blood spurting from under his boot. Kvar yells, pain wracking him as his knee is crushed beneath Kratos's foot.

"So... many... years..." Kratos's voice wasn't completely cracking, still cheery, but it shook now, although with what the teens and the man he was currently taking his time killing could not tell. He stepped off the Cardinal, a flicker of healing light dancing around them both, as Kratos healed the scattered wounds across Kvar, his knee shuddering, but not doing so much as a twitch beyond stemming blood flow. Kvar yelps, glancing up at the widely grinning mercenary, then scrambling for his scepter, managing to rise to one leg, his left incapable of true movement beyond the knee. With the help of the pole arm, he gets to both feet, barely able to put weight on his left, he staggers back out of Kratos's blade-reach, a full six or more feet away from the man.

"what?!" Kvar gingerly balanced, felt his torso, his shoulder, the leg he knew – from doing it to others – that had been incapable of moving only seconds before. "Why did you heal me?!" Kratos was before him, grin firmly in place, and he leaned forward into Kvar's face.

"Shh.." Kratos's voice was still eerily cheerful, and now was eerily sweet at the same time as he rested a finger before Kvar's mouth, mimicking the movement on his own face with the blade holding hand. "I am not going to let you go so soon.." Kvar reacts then, twisting his head away then biting down on Kratos's hand. Rage clearly flickers across the mercenary's face then, and he withdraws his bitten hand, the other swinging to punch the Desian squarely in the face. Kratos's knuckles crack about his sword-hilt as the cardinal goes flying from the impact. The mercenary continues to look enraged for a moment, looking at his hand, then a smile flits back into place, masking all the rage, but for his smoldering eyes. Kvar stands once more, before looking for his staff, finding the battered pole arm some feet to Kratos's other side. The Desian Cardinal wipes blood from his face, grimacing at his remaining hand before turning his attention to the somewhat absent eyed madman before him. _If he could get his scepter before the mercenary returned his attention to the now..._

"What do you think you're doing?" Kvar jumped, more than the hops he had been making to move over to his scepter, jerking back. Kratos was watching him curiously, mouth still in a wide, teeth baring smile, his eyes still lit within with a crazed light, making them seem to glow crimson. Kvar backs up, out of the mercenary's range of attack. A hum, dripping, and a yelp from the cardinal told what happened next. Kratos walks closer, his hands empty although dripping with his own blood, to Kvar, the cardinal grimacing at the blade sunk into his left shoulder, once again too high to deal massive damage, but carefully below the collarbone. And horizontal. Kvar struggles to reach the blade, the hilt, anything to pull the weapon free, but Kratos reaches him before that. Kvar grimaces, expecting the same treatment his other shoulder had received, but Kratos grips his blades hilt, and strains for a second, lifting the cardinal into the air by the blade. The half-elf yells, trying to grip the blade so it wouldn't go further into his body. Kratos watches the blood that trails down the flat of his long sword as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

"You... inferior being..!" Kvar hisses, trying to hold himself away from the maniac male. "Kill me, already, if that is what you intend!" Kratos's next words, hissed rather than cheerfully said, chilled those aware in the room.

"That takes all the fun out of it." Again, the mercenary's voice has a strange twist to it, almost like something else was trying to come out. Then a small chuckle did, as cracked as the smile on his face, and Kratos dipped his head, staring at the floor as twisted laughter manages to get past his lips. Kvar stares down at the mercenary as he realizes how far the man was cracked, Lloyd and Sheena staring in mild horror as Kratos takes one hand from the hilt, bringing it to his mouth to cover the laughter and smile, his grip and the angle of the blade staying the same without so much as a dip. It takes a moment, but Kratos swallows his laughter, straitening with his grin in place, if blood smeared by his soaked hand.

"And... I want to have all the fun... I can.." Kratos whispers, raising his left hand to his hilt again. "What will you do, Kvar?" His voice rises, again with the twist those aware labeled as his hidden laughter. "I shan't be letting you down. You'll have to do that yourself!" Kvar snarls, his grip slipping with his own blood and weight forcing him further down the sword, closer to the crazed mercenary.

"Spark wave!" Kvar shouts, struggling to keep higher on the blade. Kratos grunts, the spell enveloping him, playing havoc on his limbs. Unfortunately, this doesn't do to well for Kvar; Kratos's jerking and twitching within the spell wasn't releasing him from the weapon the mercenary held, but cutting him more even as the angle lowers. Kvar manages to jerk away from the blade before it clatters to the ground, Kvar's spell suspending the blood crazed mercenary like it had the thin elf. The spell finally finishes, dropping the mercenary. Kratos staggers, blood dripping heavily from his torn and soaked clothes, before he started muttering.

"soothing wind, ease our pain.." Kratos holds his head as he mutters this. "Healing wind.." he whispers, and a minty green breeze swirls through the room, wrapping around Lloyd, Sheena, and Piers. It tried to wrap around Aurian, but failed, running over her instead, before swirling around Kratos, healing some of the worse wounds on him. Pieces of glass clatter to the floor, before Kratos picks up his blade again, the spell finishing but without healing all his wounds by the blood still dripping from him. Kvar lets his left arm hang limp, the shoulder damaged and blood dripping from his fingers. Kratos watches him, his head not strait on his shoulders, ignoring the blood that gummed his hair to his face and head, the blood that trickled down his face to stain his teeth more and finally drip from his chin. His hand drops to his side, and then grasps his blade once more, pointing it at Kvar. The cardinal turns, spotting his staff, and hobble-runs for it. Kratos disapproves of this, and lunges after the man, still grinning widely as he flicks his blade out, catching the man on the back of the working knee. And through it as well. Kvar falls with a yelp, his single arm barely cushioning the fall, glass digging into his torso. Kratos's heel digs into his knee shortly after, the crimson eyed male watching with anger clouded amusement as Kvar flails with the pain, before he drags his blade through the leg above his boot. Kvar jerks, but makes no sound, even as it was clear he was in incredible pain, and Kratos appears disappointed with the lack of screaming. So, his blade flicks, blood scattering as he kicks the limb to one side, Lloyd and Sheena flinching despite the fact it wasn't flying in their direction, before the mercenary's blade stabs down. This time, Kvar does scream, and it rises in pitch, and rises some more. Lloyd's eyes widen, and he makes a soft whimper, pressing his legs together but unable to stop watching in horror. Sheena flinches, and Kratos regards Kvar with his crazed eyes, wide grin, and chuckles, softly, once more, before fire flicks over his hand, then across Kvar's stump of a leg, and the point where his blade pulled back. Kvar's screams simply didn't pause, even as the man's voice grew hoarse, he curled into the fetal position on the ground. Kratos watches, his smile straining to grow larger but not physically capable of doing so, instead the light in his eyes intensifying, making the crimson look more like a flame sort of color, orange-amber rather than bloody red as he circles Kvar. Suddenly that grin turns jagged, a frown, and Kratos spins on one foot, the other flying and connecting to Kvar's face. Kvar's screams, which had died in intensity, cut off as the Desian Cardinal goes flying from the force of the blow, his nose spouting blood once again. Lying on his back, the half-elf's vision was obscured by the bloody-faced mercenary's once more, as a blade bit into his left shoulder, once again too high for his heart.

"Are you getting tired of games...?" Kratos asks, his voice cheery and pleased, as he sinks the blade slowly into Kvar's flesh. Kvar flinches, flailing with his remaining leg, and Kratos casually steps on it, grinding his heel into the man's knee as he twists the blade so that it was at a right angle with the collarbone it cut into.

"Really?" Kratos asks in reply to the man's noises of pain, as if he had heard an answer in them. "So am I!" the mercenary's voice rises at the end as he jerks the blade free of the cardinal's shoulder, like he had the right arm. Kvar screams again, albeit a hoarse noise, as Kratos draws his blade free, flicking it through the air then across the remaining limb. Kvar's leg goes flying with another kick, to a different corner of the room. The mercenary grips the cardinal's remaining, albeit nearly detached limb, using it to wrench the man up, then to the side, throwing the Desian with his limb, letting it tear to send the remains of the man flying. The left arm was flung toward the door like trash, Lloyd flinching as it hit the wall and dropped down. Fire races through the air and over Kvar before he hits the ground, sealing his wounds closed and crispy. Kratos leisurely walks over, and hooks his foot under the man, flipping him onto his back. Kvar, although battered (was an understatement), bloody faced and in incredible pain, snarls up at the mercenary, glaring from black and crimson eyes that didn't want to work.

"Damn inferior being!" Kvar snarls, glaring up at the man, incapable of moving.

"Inferior... being..." Kratos muses, letting the words roll in his mouth, watching the half-elf man, his eyes half closing. "... you seem to like them. How about.." the mercenary leans down, his balance wavering for a little bit then grabbing Kvar by the hair and pulling the torso of a man up, his sword clattering to the floor beside him. ".. we make you look like.. a human." Kvar snarls at the crimson eyed male, even as a dagger flicks into view from its hiding place somewhere on Kratos's person. Carefully, Kratos moves the blade to the side of Kvar's head, crazed crimson eyes fixed intently on his target. Kvar makes a slight noise, as the pain through his scalp was added to with something about his ear, and something falls to the ground.

"You seem... to like to talk about them so... much..." Kratos adjusts his grip, turning Kvar about. The cardinal snarls at him, trying to snap at the mercenary's other hand when he was turned, but got nothing.

"Kill me, you bastard. Stop playing." Kvar gasps out, a sort of snarl to his voice, but not enough strength, or air behind it. Kratos grins widely, blood coming from the corners of his mouth as the urge to grin tried to overpass the ability to do so.

"No... That takes all the fun... out of things..." Kratos hisses, cutting away at Kvar's other ear, flicking the bit of flesh away and burning the wounds shut with a word. Kvar yelps, but the pain isn't as bad as the other wounds that still throbbed, just the cutting of the points from his ears to shape them like human ones.

"I should have used her Exsphere to kill your brat!" Kvar shouts. "Made you do the same to him as he-" Kvar cuts off, Kratos's fist in his face as the taller male dropped the remainder of the smaller with the blow. Kratos wasn't smiling now, his eyes dark red near black, but still holding the crazed glow, a snarl holding his lips now as he paused, breathing heavily. Kvar snarls at the mercenary, who growls low back at him, his crimson eyes bright with restrained rage. Slowly that smile came back, and Kvar stiffened as one hand curled about the upper part of his rib cage, the other on his hip, the dagger forgotten on the floor. Kvar screams as Kratos jerks the two apart, the cardinal's flesh and clothes ripping even as the mercenary's grip slipped with his own blood, then digging deeper into the cardinal to compensate. Lloyd whimpered at the sounds, clamping his hands over his hears, but not all the sound was blocked. The twin-blade closes his eyes, hoping that would help, but with what horrors he had seen recently, the things he imagined were just as bad as what he would be seeing, and so he stares, horrified, at Kratos's back instead. Sheena grits her teeth, and stares at Piers, and then Aurian, both of whom were still unresponsive. Kvar's shriek dies off, the wet noises of organs hitting already the wet ground as Kratos releases Kvar. Kratos seems to be frowning, watching Kvar's face, and then he abruptly slaps the cardinal across the face. Kvar jolts, although not much was able to move like that, and glares at Kratos.

"Kill me, bastard! Kill me or leave me to die as is!" Kvar manages to say, trembling with pain. Not that there was much of him left to tremble. Kratos's smile widens back to the point where it was straining his skin, and he shakes his head, a dagger flicking into his hand.

"you're going.. out of order... Kvar." Kratos flicks the blade around in a circle on blood slicked fingers, before staggering to sit on the remainder of Kvar's waist, grinning wider at the noises this causes the Desian to make. Kvar feels something off, a wet slicing sound before Kratos's dagger was in his view, a bleeding chunk of meat on the tip. "Dinner comes... before dessert" Kvar yells, trying to struggle back, but Kratos's other hand grips Kvar's jaw, forcing the Desian's mouth open. Kvar struggles and Kratos's dagger slices into the side of his mouth before he forces the bit of flesh off the blade via Kvar's teeth, and firmly shuts the half-elf's mouth and plugging his nose. Kvar struggles, trying to spit the flesh out, but fails miserably, Kratos's grip holding his mouth shut. The dagger was dropped by the cardinal's head, Kratos's now free hand moving to manipulate the underside of Kvar's jaw, then is throat, forcing the other male to swallow. Kvar clearly didn't want to, the way he tried to jerk his head free of Kratos's hands, but it didn't work. The Mercenary retrieved his dagger, cut another piece of flesh from just before him, spearing it on the tip and forcing the cardinal's jaw open just wide enough to slip the bit of one of his own internal organs into his mouth.

It took a while, the slow movements of Kratos forcing Kvar to eat his own inner organs, before the Cardinal managed to jerk his head away from Kratos's blood slicked grip and spit the bit of meat at Kratos's face. Somehow, this completely snapped Kratos's hold on what little sanity he must have left. The dagger clattered to the ground by Aurian, and Kratos's fist found contact at Kvar's jaw. This might be saying something; they were by the stairs of Kvar's raised platform. A sharp crack sounded, Kvar's jaw breaking under the force, and the cardinal letting out a strangled gasping cry of pain. Kratos's hand drew back, and smashed into Kvar's haw once more, sending the bone flying across the floor, then his hand repeated the motion, but higher on the cardinal's face. All Lloyd and Sheena could see, not that they wanted to see more, was Kratos's back, his cape and shirt torn, glass sticking in his body still, battered armor, blood staining the fabric even darker, and his arm, rising and falling as he repeatedly slammed his fist into Kvar's face.

"Feel the pain.." Kratos hisses out. "Of those _inferior beings_... "The twist he put into the pair of words translated into harder punches. "As you burn in the depths of hell!" Kvar's cries had halted, some time ago, but Kratos's fist kept falling. It takes him a moment, to finally slow, still sitting on the remains of a man, to blink and look at the Desian's mutilated face.

"...can't.. be dead... yet.." Kratos whispers, almost brokenly, staring at Kvar. "too.. easy..." The mercenary's voice was choked with something, and a dagger flashes out into his hand, a third one, and he plunges it into Kvar's still chest, then draws it back out and repeating the motion.

"Lloyd..." Sheena whispers, standing unsteadily. "..You have any gels?" She had to forcibly turn Lloyd's horrified gaze from the mercenary, before he nodded, eyes flicking back. "Eat one.. then take Piers and Aurian and go find a hiding place." Lloyd blinks, tearing his gaze from Kratos once more.

"...what...?" Sheena flinches a little at the raw.. something in Lloyd's voice, and helps the teen to his feet.

"Take Piers, take Aurian, go out, and find a safe place." Sheena says, indicating the unconscious teen, elf, and the door. "I'll.. get Kratos." She had to help him find his blade, moving quietly under the sound of a blade hitting flesh again and again, pulling the glass covered elf up, ignoring the barely open, glazed golden eyes, and slinging her left arm over Lloyd's shoulder while he dutifully swallowed an Apple Gel. Pier's right arm went over Lloyd's shoulder as well, and she helped him to the door. "Don't follow the blood path." She told him, and he nodded, shuffling out, half carrying the two with him. Sheena turns and carefully makes her way back to the mercenary. He was still stabbing his dagger into Kvar's now rather mushy chest, but without any real force to it.

"Kratos." Sheena pauses outside his reach, but the mercenary doesn't react, still drawing the blade back and almost dropping it point down into the pulp that was once a man's torso. "Kratos, he's dead." Kratos stops, blinking, she could tell that much from her angle. "You killed him." The crimson eyed male looks at Kvar's mutilated face, then the remains of a chest beneath his hands and dagger. Slowly, unsteadily, the mercenary stands, and Sheena takes a half step back, watching warily. When he turns to pick up his sword, Sheena was a little horrified to find his grin back, despite the new blood staining his face. Kratos bends to pick up his blade, and falls to his knees, weakly laughing.

"..." The laughter grows, and grows more cracked, like it wasn't truly what the man wanted to voice. "...fin...ally..." he breathes in the midst of his laughing, tilting his head back and his eyes closed as he kneels there, a sob like quality to his laugh now. "Finally..." he slows in his mad laughter, blood dripping to the ground, as he slumps to one side, like his energy had finally given out from blows he received hours before. He reached for the blood pool spreading about Kvar's remains, but couldn't quite reach it as his own puddle of blood forms. With a little reaching, he manages to smear his fingers through the cardinal's blood. "I'm sorry... it took me ... so long..." Kratos whispers, faintly. "...first... aid.." the sparks dance about him, and then the mercenary stills, his eyes closed. Sheena stares at him for a moment, before she gathers his daggers, cleaning them on a dead human's sodden clothes, and sticking them into her pouch. The sword was a little harder, but she cleaned it too and put it back into the man's sheath. She was surprised with how light he was when she finally lifted him to put one arm over her shoulders, but chalked it up to blood loss – something she was sure he was missing.

Lloyd half carries Piers and Aurian from the room, heading down the hall that he didn't come from, but the one that intersected with the one the other three had. Sheena joins them shortly with an unconscious, gore-splattered Kratos, and they hole themselves up in a store room.

* * *

You have no idea how much fun I had writting that bit of Kratos going batshit on Kvar.


	26. Past Fights Back

_**For those of you who missed Kratos killing Kvar... know that he did kill Kvar. In a rather disturbing, 'I have had too much time to hoard my revenge' sort of way.

* * *

**_

Some time previous. – Deactivation Team

"Let's do our best." Genis says, watching the Kvar-team move off. Colette blinks, and turns to look down the other hall, then at Raine. "Do you know where to go from here, Professor? Or Daichi?"

Daichi frowns lightly. "That way." He points, still strangely unemotional Raine blinks at him, after looking back from Kratos.

"You all just keep getting stranger.." She mutters, before holding her staff ready and heading down that way. The rooms got less and less well kept, reeking of blood, grime, and other things that made Colette, Genis and Raine go green.

"H..how close are we?" Colette coughs, holding her sleeves in front of her face.

"Pretty close. The humans are kept as animals." Daichi notes, matter-of-factly. Raine opens one door, and quickly shuts it.

"that.. isn't a holding cell." she says stiffly, green. "Something else, but definitely not a holding cell." She appeared to be thinking, remembering how only a few words from Kvar got reactions from several party members that were incredibly rare - Kratos a blind rage, Aurian a shivering bundle on the floor, Lloyd nearly as enraged as Kratos.

Daichi points. "There. We'd best hurry. The guards will be back soon." Unfortunately, one shows up just as Raine looks ready to ask Daichi something.

"Human!"

"Uh-oh..." Colette whispers, as Genis gets out his Kendama.

"What are you doing here?!" there's a handful of them behind him. Daichi attacks, Shikka behind him. Daichi fights differently when on those pills. A lot like Kratos, before the Ranch. Methodical, calmly slicing through opponents, hardest first. they go down quickly.

"the cells are here..." Colette points at the two tiered wall, with cages in it. the humans weren't packed in, but they weren't exactly spacious. Raine spots a terminal in the middle, and moves for it.

"Daichi. Do the different ranches have.. different methods, for gaining their Exspheres?"

"Yes, but it all ultimately ends the same."

Raine works at the terminal. "Would you say that Kvar's field of specialty is that of.. torture?" the gates slowly opened.

"Yes." The cells completely open, and then Raine presses some seemingly random keys, and the screen goes bright blue, and vanishes. the prisoners slowly come out, a few lagging behind. it's a little obvious that most think it a trap.

"Um..." Colette moves forward. "Is everyone okay?"

"who are you...?" One asks, slowly. All of them look malnourished. A slight whirl and Daichi blocks a sword blow.

"Traitor!" The Desian growls. Raine whirls around, holding her staff ready. a good majority of the ranch prisoners go back into their cells, scrambling almost. Colette and Genis whirl about too.

"Daisuke..."

"Well, well. The traitor captain returns to free the animals he brutally tortured."

"Drop it, Daisuke."

"You know him?" Genis asks of Daichi, his kendama free, but not twirling yet. Colette turned to begin getting the prisoners out of their cells, re-assuring them, convincing them that she was really the chosen, and it wasn't one of Kvar's mind tricks when one asked.

Daisuke growls. "Drop it? Hah!"

Daichi blankly stares at the Desian. "Aqua!" A blast of water knocks the man back. The two then begin to fight. They seem to be evenly matched.

"Is it just me.." Genis asks. "Or is Daichi not getting angry. It's not Daichi-like, to not get angry."

"Just like it isn't like Kratos to smile so .. broadly?" Raine mutters.

"Uh, yeah. Sure." Genis blinks at her, but Raine was thinking. Daichi growls lightly sounding like himself, if only slightly. The two keep fighting until Daisuke casts a thunder spell, striking Daichi in the chest. Genis mutters angrily to himself, his Kendama spinning into motion as he gathers Mana.

"Arise, o violent waters..." Genis mutters.

"Leave him. He's mine!" Daichi seems normal again. He yells, pounding Daisuke.

"Hah. That's more like the traitorous hypocrite I know and hate!"

"Fine." Genis cuts off his spell. "You stop moving and I'll blast him." he warns. Colette has gotten some of the prisoners to move slowly from the other side of the room, toward the corner near the door that would lead to the exit. The two keep exchanging insults. They escalate the severity of the insults. Raine frowns at them, scowling, and Genis wisely covers his ears whenever his sister glances his way. the way she hefted her rod, it was a bit clear that someone, or something, was going to be hit soon.

Daichi manages to overpower Daisuke. "What ya gonna do, cap? Kill me?" Colette was frowning fiercely at them, her hands fisted in the front of her cape-thing. a thought hits her.

"_le the la dis le kels. Kon dans ack da lack ack le de_..." She starts singing, her wings flaring behind her. It was haunting, clearly in the language of the Angels. Genis shivers, but it wasn't from fear. Her magic boosted them. "_Oh, ro gald de oh gles. Fiat Lux... aaha.."_ Daichi seems torn between killing the man and letting the guy go. "_Sle nes ne kler tris. Kon kan ra kon lo ack le de. Lo no a no ne la... Fiat Lux... Aaaahaa.._" Colette finishes her song, hovering lightly above the floor. the feeling of strength continues. Several of the prisoners, who had been trying to hide while standing, looked a bit better. some of the others were watching Daisuke with hate in their eyes.

"Hey! You animals remember this big brute?! He was at the Iselia ranch. He tortured some of ya!" Daisuke yells.

"Shut it!" Most of them give him blank stares. It seems that only a few really had come from Iselia's ranch.

"He's attacking the Chosen's friends!" One finally says.

"that one is a Desian!" a woman hisses.

"He's with the Chosen, he can't be."

"You're lying!" One shouts at Daisuke.

"Get him!" a good half of them have shackles ones that Colette hurriedly breaks half of, and soon, chain flails.

Daichi faces the prisoners. "Wait. Don't attack or you'll be as bad as he is."

"Inferior cowards!"

"Shut up, idiot! I'm savin' ya life."

"I don't need ya fuckin' mercy, traitor!" The group of prisoners halts, wavering in place. it's clear on some of their faces that these feelings had been hiding inside for quite some time, while some others were going along with it.

"They killed our families!" One shouts, indicating Daisuke and thus the Asgard-Desians.

"Burnt down our homes!"

"Sent my daughter to a different ranch!"

"Why can't we take one down?" Colette looks worried.

"Revenge solves nothing. Also, there are more on the way. The doors trigger a silent alarm." Daichi conveniently forgot to mention this.

"I suppose crashing their system didn't help against that." Raine says, her staff in hand as she watches Daisuke. behind her, the holographic screen was a solid blue, with white writing indicating an error.

"Please calm down." Colette says, fisting her hands. "Revenge causes hate, hate breeds fear, fear breeds violence, which only leads to death, and more revenge!"

"The silent alarm is a more rudimentary system than the computer network." Daisuke has been knocked out to stop his many insults.

"I see." Raine says.

Genis indicates Daisuke with his Kendama. "so, what are you gunna do with him?" Colette moved to begin herding the prisoners in the cages to the group by the door.

"He might know a bit more about what's going on here than we'll ever get out of Kvar. Can I bring him along?"

"Lloyd was gunna get something out of Kvar?" Genis asks, looking a little shocked. "Here I thought he was just going to go kill him. Or was that Kratos. Yeah, I think that was Kratos." Genis says, rubbing his head.

Raine sighs. "I would accuse you of being soft, but nows not the time. He's your responsibility."

"Now to find the locks." Colette says with a smile.

"Me? Soft? Never." He reaches down, picking his unconscious ex-friend up.

"Exactly." Raine says. "Come along. Can all of you walk?" it seemed that none were in horrible enough condition to be unable to do so, and Raine gave a tiny sigh of relief. "We have a small detour, but after that, we're heading out of the ranch. Friends of ours are taking out the ranch-master." It takes them more time to reach the points on the map, the two halls where panels where to unlock. Daichi heads over to one, examining it. Colette follows, and trips over her own feet.

"Oops!" the panel shuts down.

"...You get what you pay for. This was a cheap lock."

"Oh no!" Colette gets to her feet. "I broke it!"

"It's ok, Colette. it works for us. now they can't set this lock back up." Genis says, grinning.

"Come along, there's a second one, then we're leaving." Raine indicates the other hall. Daichi presses Daisuke's palm into the panel, smashing it after the door opens.

"Alright..." Raine moves over and carefully does what Colette had by accident - disabling and destroying the lock. "That should let them get to Kvar, and the control room beyond. Let's get out of here." Daichi nods and Shikka tags with Colette, keeping a golden eye on her. Colette doesn't seem to be having any more problems keeping on her feet after that. The walk out was far slower than in, because they had their large swarm of prisoners to keep track of. It seems that Holy Song had been what gave them courage. A good amount of them were skittish, and occasionally Raine stopped some from running back to the cells.

It's early dark by the time they crash their way through the forest, having left the way they entered - an underground shaft. Raine lead them a fair ways into the forest, until almost dawn, when there was no sign of the red clad twin-blade or his team.

* * *

December 23rd

* * *

"... they're late.." Raine mutters. Colette was fidgeting, her hands knotted.

"Since when was Lloyd ever early?" Shikka comments.

"Very true. he still owes me homework." Raine mutters. "However, it is the next day. We should have been out well after them, with our growth in numbers." Raine sat there a little while longer. ".. I'm going to see if there are any bleeding among the former captives. when I'm done, I'll be heading back into the ranch to find them. I'd like someone to stay here, but if you all wish to join me...."

Shikka settles down. "I'll watch over the be... Humans."

"thank you." Raine says, hurrying off to see if any needed healing. Colette and Genis gather up their things, mostly healing items, leaving behind the belongings for camp. When Raine returns, they're very pointedly waiting for her.

Daichi has dumped Daisuke near a tree. "Keep an eye on him." Raine looks at her sibling and the Chosen, and sighs.

"I should have known you two would come with. Lloyd is involved." Raine mutters, but she gathers her own set of healing items, and her staff, and starts back for the ranch. the two look at each other, smile, and follow her. Daichi follows, slightly more relaxed and emotionalistic. Winding through the Ranch, they only come across a few handfuls of Desians, before reaching a door with two bloody walks. One was older, lacking bodies for the matching dried sprays of blood, and the other was newer, some of the blood still congealing and bodies to match the spray of death. Glass also littered this one, as well as smeared drag-marks. Raine frowns.

"This one." she follows the new. Daichi is tensed, axe raised. the trail stops at doors, ducking in them, then moving on, sometimes more blood was staining the floor with a small amount of bloodied glass. Finally, a door that didn't have a trail leaving it. Raine opens the door, then has to jump back to avoid losing her hand to a blade, another swinging for her head, which she ducks. Daichi swings for the attacker on impulse. The blades quickly form a cross to defend one person. Raine quickly raises her staff, and then gets a good look at the now defender.

"...Lloyd..?!" From her tone, she had expected Kratos. Lloyd was battered, rips in his jacket showing his armor underneath, and his eyes looked.. haunted.

"...Professor...?" Lloyd says weakly. "Daichi...? Guys...?" Piers is curled up in a corner.

"Lloyd... What in the name of Martel happened?!" Daichi asks. Kratos and Aurian are propped up against the wall, in a slowly forming stain of blood. Sheena is in barely better condition than Lloyd.

"Lloyd!" Genis shoves past his sister to hug Lloyd, but he pulls back with confusion as blood stains his clothes. "You're bleeding!" Lloyd shakes his head slowly, dropping his arms to his sides.

"it's... not mine. Kratos's.. or Aurian's..." Lloyd mutters.

"Kvar's...?" Daichi asks hesitantly. Lloyd goes green.

"No." Sheena says, sounding as exhausted as Lloyd looked. "Kratos... took care of Kvar." Lloyd takes a few steps back, sitting heavily. Kratos's sword was on one of the man's own belts across Lloyd's back.

Daichi sighs. "What happened?"

"Kratos ... got him." Lloyd mutters, rubbing his face, and not looking at the mercenary. Lloyd was fine with killing, normally, but... he still looked haunted, a little green.

"Kratos ... made sure he was dead." Sheena continues for him. Raine accepts this, healing Lloyd, the moving to heal Sheena.

Piers groans, waking. "Ugh. Kvar...!" He jolts awake properly.

Raine moves over to him next. "Has been taken care of." her tone says that she expects more of an explanation. Colette has fished out two life bottles and moves to work on Kratos and Aurian, who look like a pair of bloodied rag-dolls for all they're moving. Kratos's armor is visibly in pieces.

"Wh-What happened?"

Raine looks at him, then the other two. "Apparently.. Kratos happened. That's what they keep saying." Raine mutters. Colette uses one of the Life Bottles on Kratos, and since it was supposed to be a drink, a good half of it just comes back up. she dumps the rest over his head. Small wounds heal instantly, but he doesn't wake. "... that's not supposed to happen." Raine looks for an expiration date.

Piers groans, standing. He concentrates. "Wish All." A cooling blue aura washes over the party members. Lloyd blinks, looking up. Most of the wounds on the two heal, but neither twitch beyond that.

"Didja know.." Lloyd mutters. "that her ears twitch down every 15 minutes, then back to normal, and every half hour, they twitch up, down, normal... and then every two hours, they twitch out, up, down, normal?" Colette and Genis stare at him.

".. you've been in the storage room for too long." Genis mutters.

"How long was I out?" Piers groans. Daichi is looting.

"almost... 8 hours?" Sheena guesses. "Maybe more, you were out when I got there."

"Let's worry about that later." Raine says, standing and frowning at the other two adults. "Someone is going to have to carry Kratos, I think I can manage with Aurian, she's light. Piers, are you capable of walking?" Raine set to work getting Aurian picked up, grimacing a little as she found another piece of glass.

"I'm fine." Piers replies.

Daichi approaches Kratos. "I'll take care of him."

"He doesn't have his equipment." Lloyd mutters. "His armor's falling off, I've got his sword and shield. Sheena has his knives..."

"He's actually not that heavy." Sheena says, as Lloyd and her stand. they still look exhausted.

"Genis, please show Lloyd the way out. Colette, walk with Sheena and Piers behind us. If we get attacked, go ahead and drop him." Raine says, passing Lloyd and Sheena an orange gel each.

"Gotcha." Daichi nods. Piers is a bit pale.

"Back to the room you guys left." Genis says, heading back out the door with Kendama ready. Lloyd nods, following. It looked a bit weird to see Kratos's blade across Lloyd's back, his blackened and stained streamers wrapped about the scabbard as well.

"All right..." Lloyd takes the lead, letting Genis take a few steps back. they don't come across any Desians before they reach the spot with the two blood stained trails. Raine looked at the door.

"Wait." Lloyd stops, blinking at her. "We still need to destroy the ranch. the quickest way to the control room is through here." Raine moves for the door.

"Don't!" Lloyd blurts out, eyes wide.

"Why not?" Daichi asks, opening the door himself. A few seconds later, he throws up. Human corpses are strewn on the ground, and the room is otherwise dark. there seems to be something at the base of the stairs to a small platform. An arm, clearly in blue cloth like Kvar's despite the staining, is sitting neatly a few feet from the door. it looked like it had been ripped off the man's shoulder. Lloyd stares in clear horror, tearing his eyes first to Kratos, then down the hall as he turns distinctly green. Sheena is a little better. Daichi groans. Piers doesn't seem affected. Colette is pale at the sight of so much death, she clasps her hands and seems to be praying to Martel. Genis mimics Daichi, getting sick partially inside the door, while Raine looks on with a pale face, and calculation. She sets Aurian down, and seems to be about to go into the room.

"Don't go in there!" Lloyd yelps, twisting and staring at her as if she were mad. "Go another way!"

Daichi blocks the doorway, green. "I'd go another way."

"This is the fastest way." Raine says, eyeing the room beyond.

"T..that's..." Lloyd's eyes are a bit close to terror, but more firmly in horror.

"the fast way got locked. Lloyd and Piers managed to get in before it shut." Sheena says quickly. "the control room is also back that way." she indicates the other blood trail.

"Let's go the other way." Daichi suggests.

"Please!" Lloyd agrees, taking his eyes off the room with a bit of difficulty. Genis and Colette stare at Lloyd, confused. Raine sighs.

"Very well. I _will_ want to hear about this later." Raine looks down the second path. "Let's get a move on." She picks up Aurian again. Daichi shuts the door and breaks the lock. Lloyd gives him a weak, thankful grin, as they turn to head back down the corridor that Aurian, Sheena, and Kratos had followed to find Lloyd. It looked like someone had been killing every Desian or sentry machine they had come across. Daichi pops another couple of pills. Piers is pale, occasionally twitching or sparking. They eventually reach the room where the Kvar party had separated, and a now active teleporter pad. Raine with Aurian takes it, and then Lloyd, Genis, and Sheena. Colette seems intent to wait until the rest are through. Daichi goes through with Kratos and then Piers. Colette follows. It's a control room, much like the one at Magnius's ranch. Raine immediately moves to the center machine, and starts typing away. Lloyd takes this as a sign that he can take a break, and sits heavily, the blade across his back clattering. Daichi dumps Kratos in a corner. He doesn't protest, or move, or do anything beyond bleed sluggishly and breathe. Aurian was set down near Raine's feet, and it seems she's in the same state. Sheena sits too, but more gracefully than Lloyd.

"WARNING." A computerized voice. "SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCES FOLLOW THOSE KEYS. DO YOU WISH TO PROCEED?" Raine frowns.

"Yes." Raine began typing furiously on another keyboard. "shut up." a door opens. And a single Desian comes in. he gapes at the party.

"You can't do this!" apparently, it was a base wide alert. "We have the protection of our Lord Yggdrasill!" Raine ignores him, the computer's voice completely stopping, then the assorted screens flashing red.

Genis was using his Kendama. "Arise, o violent waters.."

By this time, Daichi had decapitated the man. "Boom! Headshot." Genis sighs, and the glow vanished from about him.

"Wish casting took less time." Genis mutters.

"Time to get moving." Raine says, picking up Aurian again. "it's rigged to self-destruct now." Daichi picks up the mercenary, axe in his free hand.

Lloyd gets to his feet. "A'right..." Genis stares at him for a little, before taking the lead with him. Sheena walks by Colette, as Raine quickly makes sure that Aurian and Kratos aren't any worse. Daichi yawns lightly, smirking to himself. There aren't many Desians wandering these back corridors, as they take the same way in that Raine had upon returning.

Piers keeps sparking. "Agh! Damn it!"

"We're almost out." Raine says. "I'll see if I can help then." they're into the forest.

Piers grumbles and sparks violently. "Aaaargh! Fuck!"

"Try taking your shoes off." Genis suggests. "You know, grounding yourself."

"should we bury his feet?" Colette asks. Genis and Raine give her confused looks. "To ground him!"

"I just need to... Ggnnk! Discharge." They reach the rag-tag encampment of sorts. Some of the hosts were standing at the edge, holding branches like they were clubs or something, but they look both relieved and shocked at the state of their rescuers.

"Like with static?" Colette asks, reaching over to grab Piers's shoulder.

"We'll be moving a little ways down the hill." Raine goes to find Shikka, and Lloyd sits down. Colette twitches, losing her grip on Piers's shoulder to take a few shaky steps off to one side, her eyes wide.

"Are you ok?" Genis carefully doesn't touch either of them.

"D-Don't touch me. He hit me as I cast." Piers says.

Colette shakes her hand out, but smiles at them both. "I'm ok. It just tingles a little." Genis gives her a weird look, as Lloyd watches them, his hands partially over his face.

"We need to move a bit further down the hill." Raine has returned. "Just to make sure we're out of the blast radius." Piers walks on. Daichi looks thoughtful at the situation with Piers. Lloyd lets Colette help him up, and they start moving down the hill with the mass of prisoners. It doesn't take long before a roaring explosion happens behind them, knocking quite a few off their feet.

"There goes the ranch." Daichi mutters. Quite a few of the prisoners cheer, a bunch more look shocked, and the rest burst into tears now that it's mostly over.

Raine lets them for a moment. "I'm sorry, but we need to keep moving." They reach the plains at the base of the hill, and Raine gets the more able-bodies prisoners to help make the camp, after setting Aurian next to Colette. She starts healing those in the worst shape. Daichi drops Kratos off to one side.

Daichi approaches Daisuke. "So."

"Get away from me, dirtbag!"Lloyd sits heavily, and seems to be claiming the spot for the night. Sheena takes Aurian with Colette to a stream and they work on cleaning her up a bit. Genis helps his sister.

"Listen to me. I want info. You know me. I'll do anything to get it. Anything." Daisuke pales. Raine comes back, having drained her Mana for now, and goes to see how Piers is doing. Piers is still sparking.

"Daisuke. A Desian mentioned Lord Yggdrasill. What about him."

"I ain't tellin' ya nuffin', fucking scum." Raine starts talking with Piers. Colette and Sheena return with still unconcious Aurian, who is still bleeding sluggishly, but clean. Lloyd seems to be trying to sleep.

Daichi pulls out a syringe. "Know what this is, ya little shit? A present from the late cardinal." He hopes no-one is watching. Genis is watching, but his eyes are hard all the same. Daisuke spits at Daichi. The big man punches the Desian. "Tell me what I want or I'll take it by force." He growls, seizing Daisuke by the collar. Genis takes out his book, and reads that a bit while watching a little.

"We could have Piers get rid of the electricity on him." Genis offers.

"I got this, kid."

"Yeah, I bet you do, bitch." Daichi slams the man to the ground, restraining him, injecting him.

"No, no... No!" The familiar screams of pain attract the attention of some of the prisoners. Lloyd jerks upright, his eyes wide. he looks a bit frantic for a moment, but when he spots Daichi with Daisuke, he decides to go to the stream and finally clean up.

"Want a gag?" Genis asks dryly.

"I wanna hear him squeal." Daichi growls, sounding more like the bloodthirsty torturer he was. Daisuke flails, yelling in pain.

"That's great." Genis says, shrugging. "mind taking it a bit further from camp? Otherwise Sis'll notice in a little bit."

"Tell me."

"Aagh... A human... Attacked the ranch. L-lord Yggdrasill stopped the inferior being before he got to Lord K-Kvar...Carved his way through..."

"That's why they think this Yggy-guy likes this place?" Genis asks. "Because he took care of a human for them? Wow."

"You don't get it. Yggdrasill is the leader of the Desians." Daichi states, watching Daisuke convulse.

"So, because he took care of a human for them, they think he likes them best." Genis frowns. "Now here's the question. Why'd they need this.. Yggdrasill guy to take care of the human in the first place?"

"H-he was crazy!" Daisuke protests.

"Whatever you gotta say to make yourself feel better to almost losing an entire ranch to one human." Genis says with a smirk. Daisuke tries to get to his feet to get at Genis. Genis shakes his Kendama at him, letting Mana visibly swirl about him - he's more than half charged for a spell. Daichi is holding him down.

"Say that again, runt, and I'll cut ya apart!" Daisuke growls.

Genis keeps a hold of his Kendama, even as he leans over his book. "Oh? Will you need your Lord Yggdrasill's help? Because there are a lot more than one human who'd want to take a chunk out of you if you try." Those prisoners who had noticed the screaming were still watching, silently.

Daisuke looks around. "Daichi... You couldn't have forgotten..."

"I haven't..."

"Then.... Why? Why do this?" Raine's taken Kratos off to the stream to get him mostly cleaned up, and Lloyd comes hurrying back once she goes over. He stares at Daichi and Daisuke for a moment, before bundling himself in his bedroll. "Answer me!"

"Because I'm sick of hating!" Genis gives a little grimace, but his attention remains mostly on his book.

"Then kill me."

"No." Yells rise from the other side of camp, and Lloyd's up again, quickly heading over with his blades in hand just in case. Daichi is distracted, getting nailed in the crotch.

"Ow! Sunnavabitch!" Daisuke is up, Daichi's axe in hand.

"Arise o Violent Water, and rout mine enemy!" Genis shouts, and swings the Kendama forward. "Blessed Drops!" a bubble of water forms, and drops over Daisuke, erupting into smaller. Daisuke is stymied by the water. Daichi stabs Daisuke in the chest with a sword. He howls in pain.

Genis stops twirling his Kendama, and watches for a moment. "Think ya got him." Genis says, then goes back to his book. Raine hurries back into camp, and looks around. Lloyd's got a claw set of cuts now - wolves had been on the other side of camp. Daichi is frozen. He seems close to crying. "he was a friend, was he?" Genis asks.

"One of my..." He stops, noticing the humans.

"Few friends." Genis says, like he was finishing the sentence for Daichi. Daichi picks the body up, disappearing without a word. Raine smears an Apple Gel on Lloyd, and then sends him back to his bedroll, while she goes to retrieve Kratos. The mercenary is dumped next to Aurian, and they look like dead people for all they move.

"Let's see if we can make something for all of us. A large stew, perhaps." Genis quickly gets the pots.

Piers has an idea. "Uh... Someone stab a sword they don't want in the ground, please."

Lloyd protectively pulls his blades into his bed with him, and Genis eyes the blade Daichi had used on Daisuke. "That one might do. It's not Kratos's... nor one of Lloyd's."

"Stab it in the ground hilt first, please."

"Hilt first..." Genis mutters, leaving off his stew work to snag the blade, and work the hilt into the ground. Piers touches the tip. The electricity grounds itself after a few minutes, melting the sword and knocking Piers out. Colette catches him. After a moment of wondering what to do with the unconscious teen, she puts him next to Aurian and Kratos, and drapes his blanket over him. Genis almost laughs, but controls himself, and gets back to stew cooking.

Shikka looks up, sniffing, the big guy in human form. "Nn...? No... It can't be..." Lloyd was trying to clean his blades - he seems to have given up on trying to sleep. He blinks at Shikka, and gives a confused, questioning look. Colette's helping Genis figure out how to dish out food. "I smell laguz..."

Lloyd stares at him for a moment. "Oh.. right. Your people..." he scrubs at the hilt of one of his blades a bit more, and frowns at it when it remains stained. He pauses. "Didn't.. you say that ... ya weren't from around here?"

"Yep. They're with Daichi..."

"Weird..." Lloyd mutters, and then slowly sets to sharpening his blades. After nearly cutting himself twice, he stops, and looks about. "..." he looks back at Shikka. "Wanna meet them early? or here?"

"I'll wait." Soon, a blood-splattered Daichi arrives, none of the blood fresh. It looks like he's been crying. Behind him are 3 figures. A big, bulky man with grey hair. Not as big as Shikka. The next, a small, lithe turquoise haired man. And, finally, a blonde, white-robed, white winged young woman. Some of the prisoners, who were starting get food from Genis and Colette, mutter about Angels. Raine gets up to stand near Lloyd, watching curiously.

Shikka gets to his feet. Him and the blonde woman hug. "Shikka..."

"Paula. It's been a while."

Raine watches them, and then slowly walks forward. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but.. You are not an Angel, are you? You're like Shikka." She says it softly, but clearly. Colette is watching. Lloyd's going back to trying to sharpen his blades. he's visibly exhausted, though.

"Everyone. Meet Princess Paula of the Heron Laguz of Serenes." Shikka introduces. Colette walks over, and stares at her wings for moment. After that moment is over, she smiles, and poofs her wings out, curtsying a little.

"I see.." Raine murmurs. "Raine Sage, Colette Brunel, Lloyd is behind me, and my brother Genis is tending the food. Kratos is the man, Aurian the silver haired, and Piers the teen." She indicates the ones who are out cold. "I see you've met Daichi."

"They helped me..." Daichi mumbles. The smaller man approaches Shikka and gets down on one knee.

"My lord..."

"Rynelf... Stand up." Shikka looks slightly embarrassed.

Raine looks calculating. "I wasn't aware we were traveling with royalty..." she mutters, in a joking tone as she puts things together, and glances at Shikka. Lloyd's gone back to trying to sleep.

The princess whispers. "They don't know?"

"No. I've seen no reason to tell them."

"Why don't we talk somewhere... a little further away from the main camp." Raine says, and Colette takes the hint to start calming the human-hosts, and continue feeding them with Genis, her wings vanishing without a trace. "All we know is that Shikka is from a land not our own, which must mean that you are as well. I'd rather not panic them further."

Paula nods her head. "As you wish." Shikka takes point, leading them to a secluded clearing.

Raine watches them, curiously. "... I don't know exactly how to say this... But if any of them, the.. former prisoners - "She indicates the camp behind them. "Ask if you are an Angel, Ms Paula, please say that you are. It will do them wonders."

"Very well. We are known by many as 'the Angels of Serenes.'"

"My lord." The bigger man says. "We bring dire news." He keeps glancing at Raine suspiciously.

"Thank you. It will help keep them calm." Raine ignores the suspicious looks, and watches with mild curiosity.

"Are you sure you want the... Beorc.. present, sire?" The man says, 'Beorc' saturated in contempt.

"Tragard..." The smaller one pipes up. "Watch your tongue."

"Beorc means human, correct?" Raine asks, looking at Shikka. "I'm not human. I'm an Elf." she shrugs then. "Although the difference is only in life spans and the fact that I can use Mana, and humans can't."

"This is true. But, even if she were Beorc, I don't mind. What's this news?"

"Your father was killed..." Paula states sorrowfully.

"Wh-What?! How?!"

"King Skrimir died in battle. Defending the Allience's border against the Bengion soldiers faithful to the senate. The country is torn apart and at civil war, sire." Rynelf says.

Raine flinches, frowning. ".. war is a terrible thing..."

"If Bengion is at war, then why was the alliance threatened?"

"Simple." Tragard growls. "The senate want to drag everyone into the pit they've dug themselves. Empress Sanaki has the backing of Queen Elincia and King Pelleas. The senate is on the ropes."

"So they blame us." Rynelf finishes.

Raine's silently watching them, just absorbing the information. "So, Shikka is your new king... or would be, if he was home."

"That's correct. Crown Prince Shikka was King Skrimir's only heir." Paula states.

"Yeah. Didn't he tell ya?" Rynelf asks.

"No." Raine isn't particularly put out about this. "I don't think the topic's come up." bushes rustle from the camp side. Tragard silently stalks to the bushes, reaching in. Lloyd yelps. he looked like he was in the middle of fighting with his belts to get them off. Raine sighs. "That's Lloyd."

Tragard has the teen in his fist. "Let him go." Shikka states.

"As you wish, sire." He drops Lloyd. Lloyd manages to sit this way, and rubs his head, then eyes, and buckles his belts again.

"...." he blinks at Paula. "... ya've got wings."

Raine frowns at him. "You should be sleeping."

"Can't." Lloyd mutters, drawing his knees up to his chin.

Paula walks over to Lloyd, sitting by him. "Do you need help sleeping?"

Lloyd blinks at her. "Don't want to sleep." he mutters. "Really... don't want to sleep."

"Why not?"

Lloyd shivers. "...." but he says nothing, looking firmly at the ground. Raine sighs.

"Lloyd...." it's a Teacher Voice. Lloyd blinks.

"Nightmares." he mutters. "So, don't want to sleep. They'll be there...."

"I can help." Paula states. Lloyd blinks at her.

"Really? And not by taking anything nasty?" he has this don't-dare-to-be-hopeful sort of tone. Raine is frowning speculatively at him.

"I know you have the falling one... And the one of the village..." Lloyd looks very stubborn now. He's not going to tell what it's about.

"I can sing magic. I have a special song for dreamless sleeps."

"Really?" Lloyd's voice breaks. it's a bit obvious he's terrified, or horrified, of said nightmare. Raine scowls at him. "Please?"

"Really."

"I'd hug you, but I'm still dirty." Lloyd says very seriously. Paula smiles gently and begins singing. It sounds like the language Shikka uses, but not vulgar. Lloyd blinks. "...shouldn't... I get to my bedrolll...?" he mutters. Shikka fetches Lloyd's bedroll as Paula continues to sing gently. Lloyd sleepily flops over into it, not caring that he was still a mess and would only have to clean his bedroll in the morning. Raine sighs as he falls asleep.

"I'll move him back to camp." She gets ready to start dragging the bedroll back.

Shikka sighs. "What now? I can't go back to Gallia, not now. I pledged that I would help on regenerating this world..."

"We understand, sire. That's why we're giving you this now." Rynelf states, taking out a small box. Raine looks torn between watching for her curiosity's sake, and getting Lloyd back to camp. she settles for watching while slowly making her way back.

Shikka opens the box. "Dad's Satori Sign."

"Yep. Sign of the King. Gives you the ability to stay shifted." Tragard explains. Rynelf takes the emblem, attaching it to Shikka's collar. A white light envelops him. Raine stops dragging Lloyd to watch. The light fades and Shikka is standing dressed in finer clothes, with a blue, regal cape on his left shoulder. Tragard and Rynelf sink to one knee. Raine blinks once or twice, mutters about magic, and then continues moving Lloyd back to camp.

* * *

Yeah :D


	27. To Asgard

Fanfiction . net/s/ 5821020/1/ Chronicles of Symphonia Collection of Random

Leon's got a Fanfic account.. and we decided to post something on it. It's a collection of things... like the Daichi-Dreams involving poor Aurian, and some involving child-Daichi.

* * *

December 24th

* * *

Genis starts cooking oatmeal, as much as he could fit into the pots they have. Neither Kratos nor Aurian have moved through the night, although their bleeding seems to have slowed. Raine apparently slept little, holding a book in her hands. Colette is moving among the hosts, helping lift moral with her bright wings and assurances that the Journey was well under way. Paula is sitting, humming, the sound heavenly, soothing. Colette listens for a moment, her wings lightly fanning, which was all they really seemed to do other than appear and vanish.

"I'd like to make a rough cart." Raine says, to some of the more able bodied Ranchees. "We could just carry them." she indicates Kratos and Aurian, "but a cart would enable those weaker to take rests. And Noishe can pull it." Daichi is still looking rather drawn and sullen. the Ranchees look at each other, and start making plans. A good majority of them were from Luin, and they decide that using some of the remains from there would be a good idea for the cart. Genis starts passing out the portions of Oatmeal. Raine turns to Paula, Tragard and Rynelf. "Do you plan on accompanying us?" Tragard twitches his tail, looking to Rynelf.

The cat shrugs. "Probably."

"Thats rather... Vague." Shikka states.

"I'm asking whether I can count on you three to help make sure we don't lose any of them. there are monsters in this region which will attack large groups like this." Raine says, looking between the two. "Two of our fighters are down, and Piers may or may not be still feeling ill." Rynelf looks at Shikka.

The big guy shrugs. "Stay. Leave. Up to you."

"We will." Paula states.

"Thank you." Raine says. "we'll be leaving as soon as they finish eating, and Lloyd can walk in a straight line." She moves to go wake the teen. Daichi sighs as he eats.

Genis watches him, eating quickly. "Depressed?" he asks.

"No." He responds. Quickly.

"Uh-huh." Genis says, with that annoying teen-tone that said he didn't believe it. Daichi shoots a glare at him. Genis grins at him, finishing his bowl. Lloyd stumbles over, looking tired yet, and gets himself a bowl. Somehow he manages to eat without spilling half of it onto his lap. Daichi tosses the teen a bottle. Caffeine pills. Lloyd manages to catch that, but drops his bowl. Fortunately most of that doesn't go spilling.

"ehh...?" he squints sleepily at the bottle. "... like coffee?" he asks, pulling one out to try.

"Aye. Thats right. Just don't take too many."

"Why?" Lloyd asks, looking at the bottle, then putting it in a pocket.

"Ever heard of 'caffeine crash'?" Genis asks. "It's like what happens after you eat a lot of sugar, get hyper, then fall over asleep."

"They're also deadly. If you have more than 2 a day..."

Lloyd stares a little in shock. "I won't." he promises. Raine starts looking for Piers, now that Lloyd seems to have woken up. Sheena is helping ranchees make a ramshackle thing that could be towed behind Noishe and used like a very, very bumpy cart. Piers is in a tree.

Raine looks up at him. "You feeling able to travel? or do we put you on the trundle too?"

He sparks, swearing. "I'm fine!"

"If you fall over, we're putting you on the cart." Raine points out. "Come on, we need to get going. We don't have supplies to care for them all." Raine's rubbing her head like she's got a massive headache. "And Asgard is nearly a week away..." she's mumbling to herself as she returns to the massive group of Ranchees. Piers drops to the ground, sparking. Raine frowns at him. Lloyd's off nearby hugging Noishe about the neck, while Sheena's talking to a handful of the Ranchee's she'd met before they'd been caught. Colette is listening to Paula hum.

Paula flaps, hovering there, noticing Colette. "C-Can I help you?"

"Um..." Colette clasps her hands behind her. "Your songs are very pretty." she smiles. "I've only got one, but it seems like you have many, and they do all different things! Mine only gives strength..."

"...I can teach you..." She offers, seeming a bit shy.

"Really?" Colette beams. "I-I mean, if it's not too much trouble." The mass of Ranch people start moving slowly. Paula nods, starting to sing Vigor to try and perk the humans up, teaching Colette as she goes. As they walk, Colette mimics. Lloyd leaves Noishe to walk at one edge, watching for Monsters as Genis sat on the cart that held a half-dozen children and elderly and unconscious Kratos and Aurian, holding his Kendama just in case. Raine lead, Sheena moving among the group to keep tabs on how they were all doing. Daichi is still depressed and Piers is sparking. Shikka is in lion form padding by the cart. Genis looks a little bored as he sits on the edge of the cart, watching the land pass them by as they continue for Asgard. he blinks as a choked noise reaches him, and turns to see Kratos shaking, another pained noise coming from his throat.

"Raine!" Genis yelps, jumping for Kratos as he starts trying to flail. He catches Aurian with an arm and she loses her breath. Raine comes hurrying over as Genis pulls Aurian further away from Kratos.

"Lloyd! Daichi, Piers, whoever is closest, help!" Raine shouts, climbing into the cart to grab onto Kratos to attempt to see what was wrong with Kratos as he gives another weak pained noise. Piers jumps there, twitching. Shikka shifts back to human, looking over. "Hold him still so he doesn't hurt himself or Aurian while I figure out what's wrong." Raine says. Noishe whines, looking back, but he keeps moving. Lloyd comes by. but he helps Genis with Aurian rather than Raine with Kratos, obviously trying not to look at him. Shikka holds Kratos down.

Piers watches. "Anything I can...Gnk....Do?"

"I don't know." Raine says, frowning. "I don't know what's wrong with him...." she trails off, grimacing, and Kratos jerks, trying to sit up. Lloyd yelps, jumping back even though he wasn't near Kratos. He seems to be awake, but not completely aware. Lloyd's avoiding anyone's eyes. Piers pokes Kratos, no doubt shocking him. Kratos jerks, but doesn't do much more than that, blinking slowly.

"...Kratos?" Raine asks, frowning at him as he blinks slowly at Shikka holding onto him, then at her. he then closes his eyes, and seems to have fallen back as sleep.

"... what's up with him?" Genis asks, frowning.

"..." Raine tries to figure out again.

"... Maybe he got hit with too many lightning spells?" Genis muses.

"... I think that was one of his... nightmares." the way Raine says nightmares indicates she thinks they're something else.

".. One Lightning Strike, Two Spark Wave." Lloyd mutters.

"what?" Genis blinks.

"Kvar hit Kratos with those." Lloyd looks away. Shikka sits on Kratos, tail twitching.

"... that would definitely explain his... lack of activity." Raine muses. Genis watches as Lloyd just heads off again.

"..." Genis frowns, but looks at Aurian. "Sis, he hit her in his flailing." Raine sighs, and starts trying to heal Aurian. It does very little. Raine grumbles, but gets off the cart.

"Maybe Kratos's problem is a bit like yours, Shikka." Raine muses.

Shikka nods. "It certainly seems that way." Paula has glided over.

"E-Excuse me?" She asks Raine, seeming slightly unsure about the language.

"Um.." Raine glances at Shikka as if to make sure this was okay to share, then continues anyway. "Shikka has had.. problems, before. the first time, he simply rapidly shifted between lion and human and seemed to be in great pain. the second time, he went berserk. Fortunately, the Seal Beast took it rather than us..."

"B-Berserk?!" Tragard says, shocked." Y-Your Highness! You're infected?!"

Shikka looks away slightly. "...Yes..." Raine has this look of 'dear goddess, everyone in this group has problems'.

Rynelf looks to the floating Heron. "P-Princess Paula...Can you sing the Galdrar of Rebirth? Before it's too late."

Paula smiles lightly, turning to Colette. "I-I think C-Colette should try..." She says, shyly.

"m-me?" Colette looks startled. "But, I've only just learned it!"

"It...It's still fresh. I trust..." Paula definitely seems to be having difficulties with the language beyond normal 'Hello, how are you.'

"If Paula trusts Colette, I do too." Shikka says.

"I'll do my best." Colette says, before clasping her hands.

_"Imisanakikuganonawot, _

_orokokumorodametemotowikot, _

_uaerufetotetiarahowimay, _

_oditiuomami... _

_ikemazasanoyuosasumezak, _

_otegakomoukuyirutsuinuzimadat,_

_usawurufimimeokonotihonak, _

_... _

_etitomikuuyami, _

_uamaros, _

_uamaros..." _

Shikka jumps off Kratos before starting to glow. Paula nods, then joins in with her own:

"Imisanakikuganonawot,

orokokumorodametemotowikot,

uaerufetotetiarahowimay,

oditiuomami...

ikemazasanoyuosasumezak,

otegakomoukuyirutsuinuzimadat,

usawurufimimeokonotihonak,

...

etitomikuuyami,

uamaros,

uamaros..." Raine watches, curious. Shikka gacks, starting to choke, falling to the ground. Soon, a black orb is thrown up, for want of a better phrase.

Raine picks up a stick, and pokes it. "..." The orb falls apart. Evaporating.

".. I guess that works." Raine says, tossing the stick away. "... But somehow, I doubt it's going to work on Kratos..." Raine frowns at Kratos, who seems asleep rather than unconscious. Shikka pants, sitting up.

Rynelf kneels by him. "Your highness..."

"I'm fine..."

"Did I do it right?" Colette looks a bit worried, glancing at Paula.

She nods. "Yes."

"Yay! Thank you for teaching me!" Colette looks like she wants to hug Paula, but isn't quite sure she's allowed to. Noishe starts moving again.

Shikka walks over, hugging both Paula and Colette. "Thanks." Colette giggles, hugging both.

Raine makes a rather undignified unhappy noise, crossing her arms and frowning at Aurian.

"Kratos woke up. Why won't you?" The unconscious elf offers no response to that. Of course, the 'awakeness' of Kratos is debatable as he's just sort of sitting there, staring blankly ahead. Lloyd's on the other side of camp with Noishe. Piers pokes Lloyd, shocking him. He smirks. Lloyd yelps, flinching away and half drawing his swords. He freezes, realizing it was Piers in front of him, then whacks him. it only shocks him again, gaining another yelp and a glare.

"What?! Some people pay good money for shock therapy!" He plonks down by Lloyd. "What's up, buddy?"

"Nothing." Lloyd mutters, scowling while watching Raine shove mashed up food into Aurian's mouth in an attempt to get her nutrients. It's not working particularly well.

"...Doesn't seem like nothing..."

"Well, it is." Lloyd hunches up in that 'don't talk to me' sort of way. he's also pointedly not looking anywhere near Kratos as Colette tries to make sure he eats. Kratos is just sort of watching her as if he doesn't understand.

"..." Piers frowns. Genis is also frowning, watching Lloyd. He's noticed something's wrong. Noishe whines, shoving his nose down the back of Lloyd's coat. Lloyd yelps from the cold nose treatment, flailing. Piers smirks. "Good boy, Noishe." Noishe yips his agreement, while Lloyd glares at him.

"... Fine." Lloyd mutters. "If you're gunna gang up on me... I was gunna figure out how to get Night Watch."

"...Simple. Stay awake."

"No, I mean, how to get Raine to let me take night watch. If I just stay awake on my own, she'd get mad, but if I take nightwatch, I can stay awake 'cause I'm supposed to." Lloyd explains. "'cause, I don't think he's going to." Lloyd waves a hand in Kratos's general direction. he's already slumped over in a sleep like position.

"...I'm sure if we have an adult stay awake with you..." Piers looks to Daichi.

Daichi looks back. "No."

"You don't even know what I was gonna ask!!"

"I can stay up on my own!" Lloyd scowls. "And I mean, it's not really like it's just going to be me. I'm sure the people from Kvar's are going to have some of their own awake too."

"We know that...But Raine won't."

"I'll ask her anyway." Lloyd wanders over to Raine, who is checking on the former hosts and healing travel impeding injuries.

Sometime that night, Lloyd's sitting up with Noishe. He hears movement behind him, and thinking its insomnia-plagued Colette, puts a smile on and turns about. It's not, so his smile falls and he smothers a yelp as it's Kratos, who's looking like he's working hard to take his shaky steps toward him and Noishe. Daichi groans at the yelp.

"Ungh...Wassamatta?" The half-elf grumbles sleepily.

"n-nothing." Lloyd mutters, sitting back up hurriedly. Kratos's next step fails him, and he crumples over, still silent. Noishe whines, watching as Kratos forces himself to sit up slowly. Daichi sits up, putting his glasses on, blinking. Lloyd's scooting a little further behind Noishe as Kratos manages to get to his feet again, but it's clear a breeze could knock him back down. his blank stare is fixed on Noishe as he tries to go to the dog again, but falls over.

"..." Daichi watches. "Who's possessing Aurion?" Lloyd makes no comment, but Noishe gets up and nuzzles Kratos. Kratos is now content to stay where he is as Noishe sits down next to Kratos. Kratos blinks a bit, and goes back to sleep. Lloyd makes no move to return to sitting next to Noishe, hunching up again in the 'don't talk to me' way. Shikka is spending the night in lion form. He's also wide awake, watching the four placidly. After a moment of sitting there, Lloyd migrates to sit next to Shikka. Shikka nuzzles the boy, purring lightly. Lloyd resists for a moment or two, then gives in and scratches behind Shikka's ears. Shikka purrs, leaning into the scratches.

"You do realize you're scratching something that can potentially rip your throat out." Daichi comments.

"Shut up, torturer." Shikka retorts.

"You do realize that while he can, he hasn't, and cats usually like this." Lloyd mutters. "... well, Noishe does..." Shikka tailflicks.

"Its because he's fuzzy, isn't it?"

"You do know that I'm a king, right."

"And I'm offering my tribute." Lloyd says, nodding as he scratches. "... by giving him lots of attention."

He purrs. "And I accept it." Lloyd continues scratching.

* * *

Lloyd's out in the very early hours of dawn when every ones just starting to wake up. Noishe has migrated from being Kratos's heater to being Lloyd's other side heater.

"I know. It's weird. Humans are weird." Shikka seems to be talking to himself. Noishe whines, yips, and gives a muted bark, nudging Lloyd's coat down so it covers his stomach better. "How do you put up with him?" Noishe yips, whines, and looks put upon. "You're telling me." Shikka grumbles.

Lloyd blinks. "What?"

"Nothing." Noishe gives a whine-howl that sounds suspiciously like a laugh. Shikka smirks. Lloyd blinks, mutters, and then gets up. he gets his canteen and takes a caffeine pill rather than trying to make enough coffee for the ranch people too. Kratos is struggling to get himself sitting, and Noishe whines, going over to help. Shikka stands, stretching and shifting back into human form. Raine's sitting next to Aurian, checking on her wounds and whether she's actually going to wake up or be somewhat force fed. It looks like the second. Raine looks annoyed with her lack of recovery. Piers seems less charged today.

* * *

we looked up the lyrics. Yes, we did :D


	28. Angel Festival Is Special

Yaaaay more.

* * *

December 30th

* * *

Genis stares ahead, watching the mountains that were about Asgard. Kratos is sitting broken-doll like upon the back of the wagon - the House of Salvation had lent it to them rather than let them use their crap one. He almost misses Aurian's faint noise, turning with a yelp to see her blinking sleepily.

"Sis! Aurian's awake!" Aurian's ears flick at Genis's shout and she whimpers. Piers, fully discharged(1), runs to her side. Raine hurries over too, checking on her with healing Mana.

"Aurian, how are you feeling?" Raine asks. Her response is a whimper as Aurian tries to curl into a ball, her ears flicking to the distressed position.

"W-What's wrong with her, professor?"

"She's still injured, but they're mostly internal... I can't heal them fully..." Raine mutters. Aurian's stomach then tries to deafen them. "... and she's hungry."

"..." Piers sighs. Aurian remains curled in an unhappy ball. Genis fishes in his pockets, and comes up with a bread roll likely from several weeks ago. Raine nods and he breaks it into small bits so that she doesn't shove it all down her throat and get sick. Piers also has chocolate for after. Aurian happily devours the bread, then the water that Raine passes her, but she doesn't like sitting up. Piers feeds her chocolate. Aurian nods off shortly after eating.

"... she seems more aware than Kratos." Genis muses. "Which is a good thing."

* * *

December 31st

* * *

Their group reaches Asgard.

"Yes!" Lloyd's happy about this. Kratos is still awake-comatose, sort of sitting there spacily, and Aurian's sort of hunched up at the front next to Genis. Daichi immediately drags Kratos off to the nearest place where alcohol is served. Kratos manages not to fall on his face during this, but there are several close calls. he remains all broken doll like. Daichi manages to steer Kratos into a tavern, successfully evading Raine. Raine's headed off in practically the opposite direction to the Mayor's house. Kratos is slowly blinking at Daichi.

"..." He hands Kratos something strong and obviously alcoholic. Kratos stares at it blankly for a while, before it clicks in his head that this is something to drink, and he does so, although slowly. Daichi smirks, waiting. Kratos blinks, and its not slow this time. he stares at Daichi for a moment, then the drink, and finishes it. "Feel better?"

"...I was feeling bad?" Kratos asks, a tiny bit hoarsely. He notices this, frowning. "..." he looks at Daichi again. "... what's the date?"

"31st of December. New Year's Eve."

Kratos looks like he's thinking hard, and it isn't quite working. "... I thought it was the 23rd..." he rubs the side of his head. "... I'm missing time." he mutters. he pulls out the Gald for a refill though.

"I told Raine all you needed was something strong, but does she listen? No." Daichi grumbles.

"Hn." Is Kratos's comment as he gets his refill and downs it a bit quicker. "... we missed Angel Festival..." he mutters, blinking as he is obviously sorting things out inside his head.

"Yup." He sighs. Kratos doesn't look too particularly bothered by it.

"...this is Asgard..." he notes to himself out loud, before registering that he's missing his sleeves, cape, armor and weapon. "..."

"..." Daichi remains silent. Kratos pats himself down, checking for things, before he glances at Daichi.

"How many have I had? Because if this is the second... it's far too early for my clothes to be missing." He's got a sort of smile, as if he's finding everything amusing.

"Did you just make a joke?"

Kratos blinks. "Is that a problem?" he finishes his refill, and gets another.

"No. 'Course not." He smirks. "Your gear was removed to stop you hurting yourself."

"Oh." Kratos looks down at his arms for a second. "... Huh." He starts tracing scars, looking amused.

Daichi is more or less slumped, but awake, gone past sobriety and out the other side. Kratos is also slumped over, but he seems to be at the 'I'm so drunk I'm almost passed out' stage. It looks like he's mumbling to himself, head on one arm.

"I find it kinda funny... I find it kinda sad..." Apparently, he's singing. Daichi smirks, listening, seeing if he can join in. "the dreams in which I'm dying... are the best I've ever had..." Kratos has this little smile on his face, one that says he picked this song on purpose. after a second, it looks like he forgot the song. "... but the cat came back, the very next day." it doesn't bother him, he just changes songs. And speaking of cats, Shikka, Tragard and Rynelf appear. "the cat came back, they thought he was a gonner... The cat came back, he just wouldn't stay away..." Kratos doesn't notice, he's having trouble focusing on the drink he's still sort of gripping. "... what stanza was I on..." he mutters, blinking.

"Hell if I know."

"Here you guys are." Shikka says. "I take it, though heavily inebriated, you're well, Sir Kratos?"

"I'm missing a few days." Kratos mutters, blinking at him. "Annd... Sentances .. aren't.. coming to me right now..." he glances at his drink. "I bet it's your fault." he mutters to it, but manages to drink more anyway. Tragard mumbles something about stupid humans. "No, just running humans." Kratos mutters, almost unaware that he probably shouldn't have been able to hear that. "hiding humans... want to get away from something..." he stares at the drink as if it had betrayed him. "Helps you forget... if only for a few hours... The one who creates a self-memory hiding spell will be rich." Kratos comes to this conclusion.

The party all ... at the fact that he could hear Tragard. "You sure he's human, your highness?"

"What will I wish for if I found, a shooting star that travels the sky now? That promise that I made with the departing you..." Kratos abruptly gets into a fight with his right hand, and falls off his seat. he looks confused at the Laguz. "... Do I know you?"

Tragard blinks down. "No."

"That's kitteh 1, kitteh 2 and king kitteh." Daichi points to each in turn, ending on Shikka.

"Ah." Kratos says, managing to sit up again. "I'm..." it actually looks like he thinking. "... wasted, but... Kratos... Aurion." he tries, fails, then succeeds in getting back in his seat. "I'm breaking up with you." he tells the drink, shoving it in Daichi's direction. Daichi downs it, attempting to help Kratos, but falling over himself. Shikka merely sighs. Kratos blinks at Daichi, then at Shikka. "... I think... we should be leaving... But... I've had a little too much help in forgetting... and I don't remember where the inn is..." he tries to get up this time, and ends up falling over. "And my feet aren't talking to me."

"Okay if I carry you?" Shikka asks.

"..." Kratos looks like he's giving the matter some thought. "... I'd rather walk. but my feet aren't talking to me. I don't think that'd work out."

"No, I don't think it would..." Shikka admits. "Tragard... Try and wake Daichi up." The half-elf is currently snoring away beside Kratos.

"If you kept me up... it might." Kratos points out. "then you don't have to carry me."

"True." Shikka offers his hand. Tragard nudges Daichi with his foot. The man grunts.

"Obviously, he inherited all the bad things from the beorc..."

"Elves are not pure saintly beings either." Kratos mutters, managing to clasp Shikka's hand after grabbing several ones in his vision alone. "They too are just as willing to cast the half-humans from their midst as the humans are to cast the half-Elven."

"..." Tragard obviously doesn't agree.

Daichi snorts, waking up. "Kitty!"

"I am not a kitty."

"Every race has its faults... Humans just tend to exhibit them far more... visibly." Kratos mutters, wavering on the spot. his amused mood seems to have gone away. Shikka helps stabilize Kratos.

"You speak as though you aren't one." Rynelf comments.

"I am born human... Although my granfather was half-Elven." Kratos mutters. "I don't like the veiws of most humans, and dislike associating myself with most... I lost that sentance."

"My mother wasaelf..." Daichi mutters.

Kratos is humming to himself. "I dropped a marble: when I chased after it, I dropped another... Only one remains in a single sunny spot." It's upbeat, fast, and seems to have been translated. "The moment their hearts begin to beat, like it or not, people claim their own place... They keep protecting it so that it isn't snatched away..." Shikka just starts helping Kratos. Daichi refuses help, stumbling about. Kratos manages not to attempt to pitch on his face every third step, but he's obviously having trouble with it. his singing becomes slower as he focuses on making his feet work. "Though I kept my hands clean, they look dirty... Before I doubt my memory, my memory will doubt me... We'll meet each other for sure, making our identical heartbeats into our landmarks.." Shikka is there for balance. Daichi face plants every so often. "I am here, because I'm always calling... When our worn-out motives overlap and tremble, I'll know the meaning of my birth..." Kratos blinks as Noishe whines at him. "... Yes, I am. You ahve a problem with that?" Noishe whines and yips.

"He's asking why you didn't bring him back anything."

Kratos gives the green and white dog a look. "You know why. You piss everywhere when you get drunk... and they didn't give me peanuts, so you don't get peanuts." Noishe whines then wanders over to Daichi and starts pawing at him. "..." Kratos frowns, tilting his head. "... lost my line..." he mutters. "Joining harmoniously in the dark... Despair and the future... The moonlight that exposes my sorrow shines coldly..." this one is slower. They reach the inn. Kratos has stopped trying to sing because he forgets the lyrics only a moment or two in. Raine frowns at them as the door opens.

Daichi stumbles in a second later, blinking. "Woah...S'too bright..." Raine looks between Shikka helping Kratos to stay upright to Daichi.

"... you went drinking." she notes, shutting her book.

"aye. An' I was right!" Daichi says before face planting again. Kratos mutters to himself, starting to head for the stairs to where the rooms are.

"It's men and girls again. the Inn didn't have enough room to get your friends a room to themselves, Shikka. I hope you don't mind." Raine's looking stressed.

"We'll be fine guarding outside." Rynelf says.

"If you must." Raine rubs her head, frowning at Daichi. "there are beds for you all if you wish to rest." she walks over to give Daichi a hand up, holding her staff to help her do so. Daichi groans, getting to his feet.

"I'll take him upstairs, Lady Raine..." Shikka offers.

"I'm not a lady." Raine protests wearily. "but that would be a great help." she ends up helping Kratos for a little bit, mostly to the door from the end of the stairs before she vanishes into the room where the girls were sleeping. Kratos stumbles and drops onto the nearest clear bed. Lloyd's sitting up yet, lightly running his fingers over his Exsphere and Key Crest. almost like he's petting it.

"My apologies." Shikka helps Daichi to a bed, letting the half-elf flop over. He snores, asleep before he hits the pillow. Kratos isn't quite asleep yet, as Lloyd's muttering a little to himself in the bed over.

"...Mom... I've avenged you." Lloyd mutters.

"... Can you really say that...?" Kratos asks softly. Lloyd twitches, glancing over at him. "...the one who killed your mother... was your father..."

"... The one who created the situation that forced Dad to kill Mom was Kvar." Lloyd says, staring at his Exsphere. Piers is poking Daichi with a stick. "Right?" Lloyd glances at Kratos.

"...Indeed... It was a silly question." Kratos mutters, twitching so he's lying a bit more comfortably. "I'm sorry."

"No..." Lloyd stares at Kratos a bit before lying down. "... Don't worry about it."

* * *

January 1st

* * *

"Lloyd? ... Lloyd!" Genis groans, rolling over, but Kratos's voice only rises. "Lloyd! Lloyd, can you hear me?"

Piers jolts awake. "I didn't do it!" Kratos gives him a grumpy look, but continues shaking Lloyd. Lloyd is visibly fevered, and not waking even with Kratos shouting over his head.

"Damn it boy, wake up! I've woken the rest of the damn inn but not you! Lloyd!" Piers walks to his side.

"I can splash him with cold water?" He offers.

"Go for it." Kratos sits on his bed, holding his head, obviously having a headache from last nights drinking. "I remember now why I don't drink..." Piers conjures some water, dropping it on Lloyd. Lloyd doesn't react much, staying asleep, his expression still pained and face fevered.

"Shouldn't someone get Raine...?" Genis groans, covering his head with his pillow.

"... I knew I skipped a step..." Kratos gets to his feet. "Is it always this bright in the morning?" he asks sourly, getting up to head to the other halves room.

Daichi wakes, groaning, holding his own head. "Ow..." Kratos returns with Raine, but he goes to a corner and covers his head instead of retaking his seat on his bed.

"What's wrong?" Raine goes over to Piers and Lloyd. "Is this why Kratos was shouting?"

"Yes." Kratos mutters. "I'm still in the room, you can ask me things." Paula flits in, looking slightly worried. She mutters something to Shikka in her own language.

"Uh...Lady Raine? Princess Paula can try a Vigor Galdr to attempt to wake Lloyd"

"I'm not a lady." Raine mutters, but takes her hand off Lloyd's head anyway. "It might help... He's burning up, even with what I'll assume was Piers' spell." Paula floats nearby. She starts singing a song that'll make Daichi's and Kratos' hangovers disappear for the moment and the rest to feel awake and full of energy. Lloyd jerks awake, flailing. Paula stops abruptly, blinking. He's still fevered looking, and Raine checks on him. he mumbles complaints about being fine even when clearly not.

"You've got a fever." Raine says, helping him up. the moment she lets go of his hand he's at the window.

"What are you doing?" Genis sits up, worried.

Piers freezes, watching Lloyd. "H-Hey!" Lloyd works the window open.

"Lloyd!" Raine hurries after him but he's climbing out the window. Kratos gets up and heads over to grab onto his suspenders.

"I want up!" Lloyd flails, trying to keep his grip on the eaves.

"L-Lloyd!" Piers says, alarmed.

"Again?" Raine hisses, grabbing onto Lloyd as well as the teen starts pulling Kratos out the window with him. "Lloyd, _you can't fly_! Stop it! You'll kill yourself!" Kratos makes a surprised noise, bracing himself and hugging about Lloyd's waist to keep him from moving further.

"H-Hey! Crazy Beorc! What're ya doing on the roof?"

"I want up!" Lloyd protests Kratos keeping him half in the room. "I wanna fly, I know I can fly!" Lloyd's fighting to keep his grip on the eaves as Kratos fights to pull him back in the room with Raine. Paula spreads her wings, starting to sing a soothing tune. Lloyd continues to cling, and Kratos blinks a few times, tilting his head as if he wanted to look, but was more worried about Lloyd. "I wannna fly..." Lloyd protests, although he's just holding on rather than trying to pull himself out now. Paula glows lightly, the aura starting to make everyone calm. Kratos pulls Lloyd back in, and Lloyd transfers his grip to the windowsill.

"..." Raine reaches over to check on Lloyd again, and he's still fevered. Kratos has released his hold about Lloyd's waist to keep one in his suspenders. Paula keeps singing the sublime song. Lloyd curls up, and Raine shuts the window firmly.

"Just put him in bed. If it's the same, he'll just have to sleep it out." Raine mutters, watching Lloyd. Kratos does so. Paula stumbles slightly,

Shikka grabs her before she falls. "Princess!" Raine heads over toward Paula to see if she can help.

"... Same?" Kratos asks.

"There was an influenza strike in Iselia. Two of the younger children died, then Colette got sick. Lloyd refused to leave town the entire time. Lloyd didn't show any signs of any sort of sickness until after Colette had gotten better." Raine says. "He got a fever, and ended up trying to 'fly' off the school building."

The two laguz burst into the room. "Sire, we heard the Galdr of... P-Princess?"

"I think... she's exhausted." Raine says, frowning at her hands. Kratos is sitting against his bed, facing Lloyd's with a mildly pained expression. "She used two of the... Galdr, you call them? Would that explain this?"

"Two. Vigor and the Galdr of Bliss." Shikka confirms.

"Why would the princess sing twice? She knows using successive Galdrar is tiring." Tragard mumbles.

"Lloyd." Raine shrugs. "First you can't wake him, then you can't get him to stop climbing buildings. He's sick." Shikka places Paula in a bed, careful not to ruffle her feathers.

"... He didn't get sick?" Kratos repeats, slowly.

"Lloyd's never sick." Genis says, nodding. "He complains about it, because Raine knows he doesn't, so he can't skip."

"... I see." Kratos mutters.

"Hey!" Genis sits upright suddenly. "We missed Angel Festival!" Kratos gets up and leaves as Genis anounces this.

"... True. we were on the road." Raine says.

"...Angel Festival?" Shikka asks, curiously.

"Its a celebration. We give gifts, and eat a big dinner." Genis says.

Colette wanders in. "And sing songs!"

Shikka blinks. "Sounds like Christmas."

"...?" All of the aware ones tilt their head in confusion.

Shikka blinks. "What?"

"Never heard of it." Raine says.

"It's probably a bit hard to get gifts, but Asgard is a bit of a tourist town... we could probably find some things." Genis muses.

Colette brightens. "We won't be able to go caroling, but I think we can get a big dinner made, and sing among ourselves!" she clasps her hands.

Piers pales slightly. "S-Sing?"

"Yes!" Colette wants too. "Come on, Genis! Help me make dinner?" she drags Genis out with her. Piers sweatdrops.

Raine sighs. "I'm going to stay here." she indicates Lloyd.

"I'll make sure they don't get in any trouble." Daichi says, leaving to chase after Colette and Genis. Kratos is making something that smells slightly foul. Genis moves into the kitchen, raises his eyebrow at what Kratos was doing, and starts getting things for what appears to become a massive dinner.

Daichi starts making coffee, drinking it black, groaning. "Looks like the Galdr of Vigor failed..." Kratos grunts, drinking the concoction quickly.

He's got his headache back. "It is likely a timed effect. Failing usually has more disastrous effects."

"...You can fail spells?" Genis looks startled.

"Yup. Nasty consequences..." Kratos nods, agreeing with Daichi for once.

"... didn't know that." Genis seems aware that pointing out that he hadn't had that problem would likely jinx him into having it, and so says nothing.

Daichi grunts. "Try having water explode in your face..."

"Dual element spells." Kratos says. He feels that it doesn't need anymore explanation. He glances at Colette. "Do you know where my belongings are?"

"... Professor Sage has them." Colette says after a moment of thought. Kratos returns upstairs. Piers comes down and silently makes tea. He uses water he conjured up, making sure to remove any impurities. Genis and Colette make room for him while making their big Angel Festival dinner. Kratos returns from upstairs, watches them for a second, then goes off toward the bathrooms. Sheena comes downstairs, yawning, and gets Genis and Colette's approval in helping. Piers goes upstairs, knocking on the bedroom door. Raine opens it. it looks like she'd gotten properly dressed.

"Aurian is still sleeping." she comments, heading back to where Lloyd was resting.

Piers nods. "I'm aiming to wake her up."

"I see." Raine says. she pauses, rubbing her head. "Mind you, she's still weak, and she's back to flinching at sharp movements. If it wasn't for him already being dead, I would have loved to take my staff to Kvar's head..." she sighs, and returns to watching Lloyd.

Piers enters the room, sitting by her, shaking her shoulder gently. "Aurian, time to wake up." she mutters sleepily, trying to curl up better with her head under her pillow. then she sort of jerks, and wriggles back, peering at him from under the pillow. "I made you some tea."

"...Tea?" she sounds like this is something new. She stares at him for a bit more, before she completely recognizes him and shoves the pillow off her head. Piers holds out the cup and saucer. Aurian blinks at him, her ears twitching. she reclaims her pillow to help prop herself up, and then takes it. she sniffs it, then looks at the liquid, and sips.

"It's pure. And a special energy boosting blend." Aurian gives him a 'I don't get it' look, but continues sipping.

"Tasty." she says.

"Glad you like that." Pier stands to leave. Aurian stops sipping to watch him move, staying very still. Piers leaves the room. some twenty minutes later, Aurian comes down, gingerly holding the tea cup. she looks like she both wants to, and really doesn't want to go into the kitchen, which is rather loud due to cooking. Daichi has his head on the table, mumbling something. Aurian wavers at the door, but gives up and sits at the table, ears twitching. She watches Daichi quietly. Daichi sits up, adjusting his glasses slightly. Aurian blinks at him, shifting a little back in her chair. Genis appears, looks at the table, takes Aurian's tea cup, and returns to the kitchen. She blinks at her hands like she got confused. Not too long after that, Genis comes out with plates, and Kratos finally emerges from the bathroom. He's obviously scrubbed himself and his clothes. He takes up a chair and begins mending while Genis sets out plates and cutlery. Daichi groans lightly, standing and going to wash himself.

"Aurian?" Colette manages to not make the elf jump. "Do you want to find Shikka and Professor Sage and let them know food's almost done?" Aurian blinked at her, then nods and heads off. Aurian pokes her head into the room where the guys had been sleeping. Raine's reading while sitting on the bed next to Lloyd's, Lloyd is still sleeping fitfully. Shikka is leaning against the window, watching over Paula.

"..." Aurian slips into the room. "... food... almost done."

Raine blinks, looking up. "Thank you."

"Thank you, lady Aurian." Shikka replies without moving. Aurian blinks rapidly.

"... lady?" she tilts her head, confused. Raine ignores this to check on Lloyd. Shikka doesn't explain, walking over toward Paula. The heron princess wakes lightly, yawning. Aurian makes an unhappily confused face as no one helps her understand. Lloyd wakes a bit, and makes no sudden moves for the window, so Raine helps him sit up. Aurian leaves, heading backdown now that she's delivered her message and has been confused.

"..." she sits next to Kratos. "... what's 'lady'?" Kratos blinks, looking up then at her. "..."

"a title. it is respect for the female named after." Kratos says, scowling as he pricked his fingers again. Daichi returns, clean. He sits, starting to repair his own clothes. The half-elf has a lot more success than Kratos. it's not that his stitches are bad, it's just that he keeps stabbing his fingers and getting blood on his clothes. Aurian seems fascinated by the mending for no good reason other than she's likely never gotten to see it before. Raine's helping Lloyd down the stairs, because Lloyd looks like he might lose his balance any minute.

"we have soup." Genis says, watching Lloyd. Piers walks in from somewhere.

His Psynergy aura triggers automatically, healing Kratos' fingers. "Want me to do it?" Kratos inspects his fingers, then looks at his dotted line of stitching.

"... If you want." Aurian watches Kratos put aside his sewing, but the arrival of much food being carried by Genis, Colette and Sheena distracts her from her curiosity. there... is a lot of food. Once Raine gets a fork before Lloyd and some food on his plate, he seems to wake up a little more and eat. Colette picks at her food, while everyone else sort of inhales. Kratos seems to be mashing most of his up into a big blob of stuff before eating it. Piers is probably the only one eating correctly. Daichi is eating rather sloppily, the drunker he gets. Shikka is slowly helping Paula downstairs. Genis looks up from his eating.

"We've still got food in the kitchen, we made plenty. There's some for your other two friends too." Genis says. "and there are plates set out for all four of you." Lloyd's slowly munching on a roll of bread, looking like he's nodding off again. Piers pushes coffee before Lloyd. Paula sits at the table, Shikka going out and dragging Tragard in. Literally. Lloyd blinks, but he grabs it before Raine can and holds it like its a precious child, and then downs it.

Raine sighs. "He needs his sleep..." Lloyd mumbles something into his bread roll that sounds like 'no I don't.'

"He's slept for nearly 24 hours." Piers points out. Rynelf follows, looking slightly embarrassed at Tragard's behavior. Shikka has to order him to sit and eat.

"And he took cat-naps only the entire way to Asgard." Lloyd looks up as if he's about to protest that. "Don't you deny it, Lloyd, I saw you." he buries his face in food again. Kratos looks up from his mashed blob of food, looking a little confused. At his glance, Raine shrugged. "He insisted on taking night watch. I thought I told him first half only, but.."

Daichi grumbles. "I told 'im I'd take over." He says. Lloyd sticks his tongue out at Daichi. Colette giggles, Kratos's confusion has been taken care of, and Aurian's still snagging more food. Daichi sticks his own tongue back out. Lloyd pulls at his cheeks and crosses his eyes to make a different face. Genis gives Lloyd a look like he can't believe Lloyd's older than him, while Colette continues to giggle, and Kratos shakes his head. Daichi retorts with another face. Piers, without looking, clonks Daichi over the back of the head as Raine does the same to Lloyd.

"Stop it." They both say, in unison. Lloyd face plants into his food from an over-exaggerated reaction to Raine's hit. Genis joins in the laughter this time. Aurian just looks confused as Lloyd splutters through his food, then works on wiping it off with his spoon so he can eat it. Sheena makes a bit of an 'eww.' noise.

Daichi blinks. "Oooow. He started it!"

"I don't care. I'm finishing it." Piers says. Shikka is just face-palming, Tragard is looking amused and Rynelf is staring. Paula is of similar mindset of Colette. Kratos holds a napkin in Lloyd's face until the teen takes it to clean himself up. When everyone's eating winds down, Colette heads back into the kitchen.

"Pie!" she comes out with two. "Blackberry and apple!" Lloyd cheers, Aurian tilts her head and Genis gets a knife and slice-scooper. Piers has stolen Daichi's alcohol, giving it to Raine for safekeeping. Daichi is only slightly drunk. Enough to drop the tough-guy exterior he normally has. Lloyd lays claim to a slice of blackberry while Aurian wants a thin one of both, Kratos declining and Sheena wanting apple. Raine shakes her head, reaching over and checking on Lloyd again. He doesn't seem to be fevered anymore. Daichi chooses both, telling jokes to the Laguz and even making Tragard laugh. The tiger hadn't cracked a true smile, other than sneering ones, since he arrived. Aurian looks confused over the merry making. Lloyd plunks himself between Aurian and Kratos to try to get a smile out of the two. It ends up with Kratos trying to fend off Lloyd while the teen tries sticking his fingers into the corner of his mouth to force him to smile while Aurian pinches at her cheeks to try to get the same effect. It serves to make Colette giggle more. And thus Paula giggles also. The male Laguz and Daichi seem to be telling dirty jokes and swapping stories in very hushed tones. Piers is with Lloyd, smirking at his failing attempts to make Kratos smile. Kratos eventually manages to get Lloyd off him by threatening to eat his pie. It works, as Lloyd immediately returns to his seat to eat it first. Genis and Colette can hardly manage to eat their pie due to laughing too much. Aurian seems very happy with this desert, by the way she's managed to make a mess of it on her plate. When Aurian starts using her fingers to clean her plate of any remaining pie filling, and Lloyd seems to be about to face plant the table again, Raine points out that it was getting late, and if they wanted to swap trinkets - she doubted that they'd managed to get full out gifts, they should do so before they started falling asleep again. Lloyd blinks rapidly.

"... shoot." he mutters.

Piers looks to Lloyd. "What?"

"Forgot. Didn't get make anything." Lloyd mutters. "Well, I've started, but..." Colette starts taking plates with Sheena. Aurian refuses to relinquish her place until after she's gotten the scraps of pie filling off it.

"...I didn't either..." Piers helps them, before fishing in his pockets. He's got a sack that looks a bit lumpy. Aurian blinks quickly, counting how many people there are on her fingers before darting back upstairs.

"We should sing!" Colette insists.

"Should we?" Daichi replies back.

"Yes!" Colette bounces a little.

"..." Kratos looks like he's plotting his escape. Aurian comes down with a handfull of more shiny rocks. Piers begins to slink off.

Lloyd jumps him. "Nu-uh. You're staying." Aurian begins passing out her shinies. Again, they seem to be precious metals. And for some reason, Kratos gets two.

Piers acks, flailing. "B-But...I have a throat infection!" Aurian puts one in Piers's hand, then moves back to sit next to Kratos. Colette pulls up some sort of rock for Raine, a new ribbon for Sheena's outfit, Pineapple Gels for Kratos and Genis, a new whetstone for Lloyd, a book on magic for Daichi, a charm against Lightning for Piers, catnip in a ball for all three feline Laguz, another anti-magic charm for Paula, and a physical defense charm for Aurian. All three cats fall over, mewing.

"...? did I do something wrong?" Colette looks worried. Piers nudges Shikka who meyowls in return.

"You gave cats catnip." He shrugs.

"Yes, because most cats like it, I thought they would too..." Colette looks worried. Sheena's got different sort of charms that match what she thinks they need to work on. Physical Defense for the Sages and Aurian, Magic Strength for Daichi, Speed for Piers, Health for Colette, Physical Attack for Lloyd, and Luck for Kratos. She left the ones for the Laguz cats, which was also Physical Attack.

Piers chuckles. "Catnip is a drug." There is a lot of frenzied meowing and flashing lights as the Laguz shift between forms. Paula is giggling, seeming to be remembering something. Paula gets something for Magic Strength as well. Genis scratches his nose.

"I'll make everyone's favorite foods for dinner until we're out of one meal a person." Genis shrugs. Kratos has a sack of Miracle Gels, which he passes out to two per person.

"I've got some of yours done..." Lloyd scratches his head. "But I haven't started others... gimme a couple more days, and I'll be done." Piers starts forming orbs of water, solidifying them.

"Water grenades!" He starts handing them out. Lloyd's expression becomes one of unholy glee.

"No water fight inside the inn." Raine says, sighing. Raine gives them all homework, of a sort. Basically its worksheets on the monsters they've encountered. Aurian stares at it blankly.

"Ahhh, Professor Saaagge!" Lloyd recoils.

Piers draws out a pen, quickly jotting down the answers. "Done~!" Kratos has done the same, and Aurian's still staring at the paper. Lloyd's protesting despite the fact that Raine looks like she's going to whack him sometime soon, and Colette's filling out the answers.. with the Monster Manual in hand. Daichi has completed the sheet, albeit at a slower pace than Piers and Kratos, but without the Monster Manual. Genis finishes like Daichi. Aurian has stolen Kratos's pen, and fills out her sheet painstakingly with both hands on the pen as it keeps falling out otherwise. When Aurian passes it over, it's a bit obvious she has no idea what she did, and that it's all just random half-correct letters.

"..that's right..." Genis mutters as Raine stares at the paper. "Aurian doesn't read..." Piers attempts, once more, to slink away unnoticed. Raine catches him on her way over to educate Aurian.

"If I'm singing, so are you." Raine mutters to him. "Help me with Aurian." Aurian looks like she's completely and utterly lost, and Lloyd's quite happy that he's escaped Raine's wrath. Genis notices something.

"Hey, Kratos, why did Aurian give you two rocks?" Kratos blinks at him, as if he just now noticed that yes, he did have two.

"Yeah. And, not only that, Gold AND Silver." Piers says, whipping out a special lens to check metal. Kratos crosses his arms, and Aurian's too busy getting educated to answer, although by Raine's slightly frustrated expression, it's not working very well.

"I think Aurian likes Mr. Kratos." Kratos's choking is a bit comical as Colette muses this. He nearly falls out of his chair.

"Gold is a sign of love~!" Piers says.

Lloyd tilts his head, nodding. "Most wedding bands are made of it, even though its a soft metal." Kratos's expression clearly says he'd be turning pink if the topic continued.

"And she usually sits by him." Genis points out.

"And steals his Mana over everyone else's." Raine adds. Aurian's oblivious that she's the topic of this conversation.

"It must be love~" Daichi finishes.

"It was my birthday last week." Kratos almost snaps it.

"What?" Genis and Colette yelp, dismayed that they'd not known as Kratos takes his seat properly.

"... How did she know?" Lloyd asks, frowning.

"It must be because they're so close~"

"..." Kratos gives Daichi a rather sullen look of 'this is not amusing'. Aurian is still oblivious, although it looks like she's going to ask Raine why she's trying not to giggle shortly.

"I choose to take your silence as a yes." He smirks.

"Shut up, torturer." Kratos mutters. Lloyd's watching with wide eyes and like he's going to bolt once things get ugly... which might be any minute. Daichi's expression sours.

"Human scum..." He mumbles back.

"Pointy eared bastard." Kratos retorts almost off hand like. Genis goes pale, Raine frowns at Kratos over Aurian's head.

"Emo spikes of doom."

"four eyes." Kratos shrugs.

"..." Daichi seems to think. "Personality Black Hole."

"Alcoholic." Lloyd, Colette, Genis and Sheena's heads are going back and forth as if watching a ping pong match.

"Lightweight."

"I was still suffering from bloodloss." Kratos retorts to that comment, before coming up with another insult. "Old man."

"...Whippersnapper."

"How is that an insult?" Kratos looks like he's trying not to laugh.

"How is old man? I take pride in the fact that I'm older than you."

"It also means you're going to start getting stiff joints earlier." Kratos points out, definitely looking like he's hiding laughter.

"Whatever. Now...Where were we?"

".. My turn, I believe..." Kratos tilts his head, and goes for the not very insulting insult of "Desian."

"..." Daichi smirks. "Joysucker."

"Ox." Kratos rolls his eyes.

"Widower."

Kratos goes paler than his redhead-pale. He puts on a rather false smile. "Half-human." Daichi's expression just drains to a mildly angry one.

"Inferior Being..." There. He said it. Raine stifles a yelp as Aurian dives under the table. Kratos's expression is rather close to Daichi's although still quite a bit paler. Lloyd's already moved toward the stairs.

"Murderer." Daichi gets to his feet, growling lowly. Seems he doesn't have a comeback. "Touch a little too close?" Kratos still has his false-smile on as he watches Daichi. "Or true?" Daichi glares at Kratos, hands tightening into fists. He looks as though he's holding back from socking Kratos in the face. "How many towns did you sack, Mr. Desian?" Kratos asks. Daichi twitches, close to snapping.

"Uh...Kratos? Shouldn't you stop now?" Piers asks, looking worriedly between the two. Kratos blinks, glancing at Piers, then at Daichi again.

"... Desians killed my family, Misawa." Kratos says. "I do not wish to hear of them from you." He gets up to leave.

"..." Daichi twitches again. "Same with humans, Aurion. I don't wish to be reminded of my own disaster by you..."

"Did you hear me bring yours up?" Kratos asks. Raine reaches over and hits both of them - aided by a spoon in one hand and her staff in the other. Kratos gives her an annoyed look.

"Enough." Raine says firmly.

Daichi sneaks one last comment in. "You know what I mean..." He mumbles, rubbing his head. Obviously, Daichi didn't like the term 'half-human'.

"..." Kratos just gives him a look before returning upstairs.

"..." Lloyd blinks, and Raine sighs.

"Daichi, why don't you see if you can get the Laguz to the rooms. I'm going to see if I can convince Aurian to come out from under the table." Raine ducks under to try. Daichi nods, picking up Rynelf, in cat form, who curls up purring in the man's arms. Colette giggles.

* * *

(1)Leon laughed while he typed that. We were Skyping, so I know.

(2)Songs. Right. Mad World. Saw an AMV for Kratos to that. I think it fits him. And The Cat Came Back is a particularly cheery, morbid song about how this guy had a cat and wanted to get rid of it, and did so several different ways... but the Cat Came Back. Starry Heavens, translated, And Karma, by Bump of Chicken, translated. And Larcimosa, from Kuroshitsuji(Black Butler)

Yeah. A bit OOC, but i think alcohol can do that. Then again, i've never drank so!


	29. To the Unicorn

I'm posting a lot in a row, i know... I just got around to it :D

* * *

January 2nd

* * *

Lloyd yawns, picking wood shavings from his hair as he blinks at the early light. He'd been working on his gifts late. Genis snores lightly, still asleep, while Kratos finishes putting on his boots. Tragard and Rynelf are missing. As is Paula and Shikka. They're downstairs, mainly conversing in the ancient Heron tongue. Aurian seems to have spent the night under the dining table, because she's already downstairs and watching them confusedly within her blanket. Sheena's half-awake in the kitchen, starting to cook. Piers enters and starts helping Sheena. Lloyd manages to walk into two doors, the stair railing, and fall down the last two steps before he makes it into a chair and drops his head on the table with a groan. Aurian realizes that sitting under the table is going to get crowded again, so she gets on a chair. Colette giggles at Lloyd, sitting next to him. Piers has a mug of coffee set before Lloyd and Daichi when he appears. Lloyd latches onto it with a muttered thanks before setting to waking himself up. Colette takes plates from Sheena in the kitchen to the table, where Lloyd manages not to face plant into them while eating. Genis comes down shortly after Lloyd's not slouched half over, rubbing his eyes. Daichi is in a similar position, eating slowly, waking up slowly. Piers comes in with his own breakfast.

"Hey...Where are Shikka and the other Laguz?" Aurian points to the door, before setting in on food happily. Kratos joins them, eating a bit before sitting to one side and working on the mending he hadn't gotten to. Colette blinks.

"I'll go see." She smiles, getting up after only eating a tiny bit and basically fleeing. Piers watches Colette, frowning. The four laguz are outside, talking in ancient Tellian. Colette looks blankly from one to the next, tilting her head as she understands none of this. After a moment of thought thinking on what to do, she politely walks up, coughing lightly for attention. "Excuse me... but breakfast is ready, if you want some." The four stop, looking to Colette. Paula smiles lightly.

"Actually, we need to go, but thank you for the offer." Rynelf says, bowing slightly.

"Oh." Colette blinks, before smiling. "Do you want something that can be taken with you? It wouldn't take long to make."

"We've already eaten." Paula says, hesitantly.

"And we have enough supplies. You're too kind, Chosen." Rynelf finishes politely.

Colette blinks, startled a bit by Rynelf, before turning a little pink. "N-no, I just want to make sure you're safe and all."

"We'll be fine." Tragard says bluntly. Rynelf glares at the tiger. Colette smiles brightly at him as if he had re-assured her with words Rynelf would have found appropriate. Tragard mumbles something and Shikka cuffs him across the back of the head.

Colette looks confused. "I'm sorry, I didn't understand that." she then further turns pink. "We're almost ready to head out ourselves, do you want to head out together?" she asks on the heels of her first comment.

"You weren't supposed to." Shikka says, glaring.

"We're heading in the opposite direction." Rynelf indicates towards Triet.

"Oh..." Colette tilts her head a little, before smiling serenely. "I hope you do well ..." she blinks, realizing she didn't exactly know what the three of them were going to do now, and floundered for a moment, before grasping on the fact they'd been looking for Shikka. "I hope your news is welcomed."

"It will be." Shikka confirms.

"We gotta go. Now." Tragard says. The three say goodbye before darting off. Colette waves to them, before looking a little hesitant, then bowing her head and clasping her hands in a tiny travel-prayer to her goddess. Lloyd and Daichi poke their heads out of the door.

"Hey, Colette, Shikka, what're you guys doing standing out here?" The teen asks.

"Paula, Tragard, and Rynelf went back home." Colette chirps.

"Oh." Lloyd blinks. "We're all ready, are you?" Colette nods.

Shikka nods. "I'm ready."

* * *

January 3rd

* * *

"Okay, go on, Sheena!" Lloyd grins at the edge of the lake. "Ask Undine to take us over there." Kratos gives Lloyd a Look.

"... That's not going to work." Kratos points out.

"Yeah. Isn't only women that can approach unicorns?" Piers asks.

"By a pure maiden." Raine says, clarifying. She's not standing next to lake.

"... At the very least, Lloyd, Genis, Piers, Daichi, Shikka and I are out." Kratos says.

"So... Only females can go?" Lloyd says.

"Pure females." Daichi notes. Piers gives a side-glance at Sheena.

"So, then just Raine and..." Genis says, but Raine cuts him off.

"I'll... pass." Raine says, frowning at Aurian. "But I don't know we're going to do." Aurion looks quite confused.

"So. Only Colette is gonna go over?" Daichi concludes. Piers smirks at Genis' comment.

"Hey!" Sheena snaps. "Are you saying that I'm not qualified?" Colette, Lloyd, Genis and Aurian look confused.

"Qualified?" the four asks.

Daichi double-takes. "I didn't say that!"

"You kinda did." Piers points out.

"Shut up! I'm sure Sheena is as qualified as the others!"

"... Then we shall send Colette and Sheena." Kratos says, sighing.

"... why can't the Professor go?" Lloyd asks, confusedly. "Or Aurian." Aurian is as confused as Lloyd is.

"Because I'm an adult." Raine says.

"It's because you're scared of water, isn't it?" Piers asks.

Raine slaps him upside the head. "No, it's not."

"... So is Aurian an adult too?" Genis frowns.

"... Look, a butterfly." Kratos points before the elf can get her question out. She is distracted in trying to catch it.

Piers rubs his head. "Ooooow." The elf is distracted enough, which means that Lloyd, Colette and Genis have no reason to continue asking about it.

"O.. okay then, I'm going to summon now!" Sheena steps to the lake.

"Are you two all right?" Lloyd asks, as Colette and Sheena return, looking teary.

"... Sheena, are you crying?" Genis notes.

"The unicorn... gave us his horn." Sheena mutters.

"I see." Kratos turns to leave. "Then the unicorn is dead."

"..." Piers doesn't look surprised.

"S-So it gave its life to give us the horn?" Daichi asks.

"You knew?" Sheena's pissed, while she's almost crying.

"When a unicorn loses it's horn, it dies." Raine says. "By dying, a new unicorn is born. That's why the unicorn is the symbol of death and rebirth."

"... A new unicorn will be born?" Lloyd asks.

"Yes." Raine says. "I'm sure one has been."

"...The Unicorn gave us this horn at the cost of his life. We must make good use of it." Colette insists. "Let's use it to save Pietro and Clara."

"... All right." Lloyd says, and Colette passes the horn to Raine. She and it glow for a bit.

"Okay. Let's get going!" Piers says enthusiastically.

* * *

January 5th

* * *

"Desian." Kratos calls, returning to camp. Lloyd still was out of camp. Aurian twitches, but keeps with cutting potatoes. "Come here for moment." he turns walks into the woods without waiting.

Daichi sighs, getting to his feet. "Wish he would stop calling me that. I do have a name..." Lloyd's in a clearing spot, blades drawn as he basically goes through positions and attacks.

"Lloyd. Spar with him." Kratos indicates Daichi with a twitch of his head. Lloyd blinks.

"Huh? Not with you?"Lloyd asks.

"Hey! I didn't agree to this!" Daichi protests.

"You followed." Kratos shrugs, walking to the edge and watching.

"..." Daichi twitches slightly. "Ugh. Fine. But don't blame me if he gets hurt." Daichi draws his axe.

"I promised Ms Sage that I wouldn't allow more than bruising." Kratos says, as if he was mildly annoyed with that, but remains against the tree.

"Okay..." Lloyd holds his swords with one diagonal in front and one at his side. Daichi runs forward, yelling, swinging his axe for Lloyd's legs. Lloyd jumps up, lunging forward with his left hand blade first, the right ready to move quickly. Daichi blocks the left blade with the haft of his axe, bringing the edge towards the boy's arm. Lloyd twists and jumps away from Daichi. Daichi recovers, darting forward again, swinging for the teen's side. Lloyd crosses his blades in an X to catch the ax-blade away from his side, a bright grin on his face at odds with focused look to his eyes. it does send him skidding back a bit, but then he twists to try to kick Daichi's elbow. Lloyd yelps, seeing his danger, and takes a gamble. He moves closer to Daichi, then tries to get his feet on the ax haft to jump over the half-elf. Daichi is overbalanced, falling on the ground. Lloyd manages not to get entangled with Daichi, moving lightly about on the balls of his feet.

"Be more careful." Kratos says from the sidelines, more toward the teen than Daichi.

"Yeah, yeah. It was fun."

"It isn't ..." Kratos shook his head and gave up that train of thought. Daichi groans, sitting up, holding his head.

"You hurt?" Lloyd asks, although he does stay out of what he thinks is arm reach, but his blades are tilted down.

"I'm fine. Just dizzy." He assumes a ready stance.

"Regain your balance first. It would be unfortunate for you to fall upon your ax."Kratos's tone held no insight onto whether he would like such a happening or not, and so Lloyd didn't pick up on anything.

"I'm ready." Daichi growls.

"Ok!" Lloyd chirps, darting in with his blades in a wedge before him this time. Daichi blocks with a swing of his own axe, sparks flying from the impact. Lloyd spins, twisting his grip to drag the left blade up in an uppercut. Grinning. Daichi brings the haft down on the boy's left arm. Lloyd yelps, but manages not to completely drop his blade, kicking out and striking down with his right blade. Daichi turns, glancing the blade of his backplate. He spins, axe going for the teen's left side. Lloyd drops to the ground, rolling away and then springing back to his feet to shake out his left arm, grimacing. He glanced at Kratos, but the mercenary didn't acknowledge it, and thus the brunette got no healing.

"Aqua Edge!" Daichi blasts water at the teen, darting forward, axe swinging, hoping the water distracts. Lloyd yelp-gurgles, as yelping in the middle of a water spell isn't that great of an idea. He immediately moves backward to spit out the water and scrub it out of his eyes, and completely misses the ax swinging. Lloyd doesn't manage to notice this second danger to him, but someone else did, and didn't feel like letting the boy take that sort of damage. A violet gloved hand grabbed Lloyd by the suspenders and white streamers, jerking him aside. A tiny flicker of shifting blues that could have been the remainder of the water spell splashed from Kratos's boot as he shoved Lloyd out of danger. Daichi, again, overbalances. This time, he face-plants in the mud. The blue Mana flickers over to Daichi, and Kratos seems completely unaware of it. Daichi cringes, suddenly yelling out in pain. He doesn't seem injured.

"What did you do?" Lloyd asks, twisting about further to look at Daichi.

"..." Kratos watches, mildly curious. "Nothing I am aware of." The flicker of blue Mana is circling the man's Exsphere. He hunches up, whimpering, occasionally yelling or yelping in pain. He seems oblivious to the other two.

"Hey. What's that?" Lloyd moves to poke the tidbit of Mana.

"Don't." Kratos says, softly.

"Huh?"Lloyd looked like he thought he hadn't really heard the man say anything.

"Don't touch the Mana." Kratos elaborates, not moving. The fleck zaps the Exsphere causing Daichi to howl out in pain, no doubt being heard from camp. Apparently this realization comes to Kratos's attention, because he puts away his sword. Aurian peers about a tree a second before Colette and Raine, Genis trailing behind and Sheena keeping watch over the fire and meal with Noishe. Daichi is now thrashing in the mud, whimpering in pain. Occasionally, the Mana fragment will zap his Exsphere, causing another pained howl. It was like listening to someone being tortured slowly. Aurian seems to make that connection, inching closer. Colette is staring at the little fragment of Mana, although not in the same way Kratos was, curiosity more than 'what the hell?' Lloyd inches to poke it and Kratos pulls him back.

"Don't touch it."

"You know something?" Raine asks of Kratos.

"It's hurting him." He points out blandly. "who says it won't hurt Lloyd?" Suddenly, aqua blue wings sprout from the half-elf's back, causing him to scream out again. They're more-or-less like Collette's, only a pure aqua blue. Aurian retreats, startled beyond Lloyd's yelp and fall on his ass, the teens cry covering Kratos's hiss. Colette looks startled, while Raine and Genis stare.

"... No way." Genis mutters. "Daichi's an Angel too?"

Daichi groans, starting to come around. "Ugh. There was no need to attack me, Kratos... I wasn't actually gonna hit him. Hard." He notices everyone staring. "What?"

"As far as I'm aware, I did nothing." Kratos says. he seems to be thinking, and liking what he came up with. "I think we're done for today." he turns and walks back to camp.

"Dude." Lloyd points the wings.

Daichi blinks, turning around, seeing the wings. He pales. "What. The. Fuck!" Raine almost whacks him upside the head, but the wings make her hesitate, and stop.

"Dude." Lloyd repeats.

"Wow!" Colette poofs her own wings out with significantly less screaming, twitching and pained expressions. "You're an Angel too, Mr. Daichi!"

"A-Angel? H-How? I wasn't an angel half an hour ago!"

"Wings?" Lloyd points out. "Wings make you an angel." Aurian seems to be in some sort of shock. Genis goes to poke her while Colette attempts to get Daichi off the ground and flying.

Daichi lets Colette help him up, but not into the air. "Take it easy... This is my... Ugh." He holds his head, stumbling dizzily.

"Oops." Colette says, looking worried. "Are you getting a Trial now too?"

"T-Trial?" Daichi stammers.

"the night of illness that followed each Seal." Raine reminds him. Genis pokes Aurian once or twice and gets her to go back to camp, ready to tell the other three about Daichi if Kratos hadn't. Which he hadn't.

"Oh. I dunno. Probably..." Genis proceeds to tell Piers, Shikka and Sheena about their new Angel. Kratos seems amused.

"then we'd best return to camp." Raine is practically digging out a notebook/journal already. Colette pulls Lloyd up next.

"Y-Yeah." Daichi stumbles lightly, starting to walk. "Uh... How do I get ridda these things."

"think them gone." Colette chirps. "make sure it's not invisible, cause they stay around then, but think them gone. See?" she drops a half a foot on accident, and falls on her face.

"..." Daichi sighs, picking Colette up.

"Sorry." Colette says, dusting herself off. "and make sure you're close to the ground." She's smiling brightly. Daichi concentrates, but is unable to get rid of the wings. He swears lightly. "Ummmm.." Colette thinks. "Ignore them?"

"See?" Genis calls, pointing at the glowing half elf. Daichi groans as Piers and Shikka stare. Kratos looks like he's very amused, but not to the point of outright smiling. Sheena's also staring, but the stew gets her attention again, although she continues to glance in his direction.

"What are you so happy about?" Daichi growls at Kratos.

"Am I not allowed to find humor in my surroundings?" Kratos asks. In fact, it seems he's the only one not so shocked by the wings. "Reactions are very interesting." Daichi merely mutters expletives under his breath. He still tries to put the wings away.

Piers edges over. "You okay, big guy." Daichi grunts in return.

"Better than a growl." Genis comments.

"Sit down." Raine says, indicating a bed roll. she's got her notebook out. Something suspiciously like "this will be good." is heard from Kratos as he watches. Daichi shoots a glare at the human, sitting down, sighing. He puts a perfectly bland expression on for the duration of the glare. Raine moves to take a peek at Daichi's Exsphere without getting in his wings. Daichi lets her. The skin around the crest looks burned and the Exsphere is burning hot.

"That's interesting." Raine mutters. "That blue Mana is gone."

"Navy." Lloyd says, finally speaking something other than out of shocked wingy ness. "The bit of Mana was more of a navy, or royal blue. his wings are aqua."

"... Thank you for clarifying that.." Raine mutters, looking only a little annoyed. "Which means it likely isn't your Mana that did this..." she's scribbling notes down.

"Really?" He growls sarcastically. "I never woulda guessed!"

Raine absently smacks him upside the head. "Are you hungry? Tired? Feeling anything strange, or the lack of any sensation?"

"Not feeling anything at all. Even that smack did nothin'." Lloyd's kinda staring at Daichi, and Colette seems to be ignoring them now. Genis comes up with stew bowls and starts passing them out. Daichi denies one. a first time event. He stares back at Lloyd. After a little bit, Lloyd gets two drinks, making them with his back to Daichi, quietly. Kratos is watching him curiously now, Same with Colette as she nibbles. Raine leaves off studying Daichi to eat and see how Aurian was doing, because the elf seems to be in a little bit of shock. Daichi sighs, attempting to hide his wings again, failing.

Lloyd goes up to Daichi, and offers him a mug. "Cocoa. Careful, it's hot."

"Wanna try something..." He drinks most of the cocoa down in one. "Didn't feel a thing."

Lloyd stares at him. "... It was cold." he says, a little lamely. "not.. that it matters..."

"You said it was hot." Daichi points out.

"I lied." Lloyd points back. Kratos is watching Colette now, glancing at Lloyd occasionally, before he leaves camp to clean his bowl. Daichi shrugs, lying back, splaying his wings.

Lloyd watches. "Isn't that uncomfortable?" He asks.

"No. Not really. Can't feel much."

"I meant the wings."

"I meant the wings."

"can I...?" Lloyd makes to poke, looking at the wings.

"No."

"Why?"

" Because I don't want you to."

"Fiiiiine." Lloyd says, taking the mug back. Daichi sighs, closing his eyes. Kratos returns and picks a spot toward the edge of camp, again taking Night Watch. Lloyd frowns at him, but goes and curls up on his bedroll. he falls asleep a little too quickly, even for him. Daichi stays awake, too, unable to sleep. Daichi fidgets with a blade of grass. The rest of the camp sets themselves up for sleep, and does so. Noishe curls up next to Aurian, the Sage siblings near each other and Sheena off to one side. Colette looks more like she's laid out for burial than sleep. After a little bit, Lloyd pounces. he's not really aiming to jump on Daichi, just go through the wings. Daichi yelps loudly, growling in pain, eyes watering with pain. Lloyd yelps, freezing up. Unfortunately, where he froze made him still partially within the half-elf's aqua wings.

Daichi flails, moving out of range. "Fuck! What the hell?" Lloyd's gasping, holding his head but frozen.

"You fool!" Kratos almost snarls, grabbing a handful of Lloyd's shirt to pull him back and then smacked the boy upside the head. "Utter.. fool! Have you never read?" strangely, he sounds a bit more worried than angry. Lloyd has just had a fistful of Daichi's memories rammed into his head. A fuzzy cacophony of noise and sound.

Daichi groans. "Save some of the runt for me."

"I would like to point out that the child-mage is the smallest of our party and the title of runt may best apply to him." Kratos apparently speaks quickly when worried. Lloyd doesn't seem very pleased with what he's seeing. "... at least he isn't screaming.."

Daichi flails to move away. "Nnng...This isn't pleasant..."

"I find it hard to imagine that having your life Mana touched by one who doesn't share your Mana would be." Kratos mutters. He looks about for a moment, before dumping his canteen on Lloyd's face. Lloyd yelps. Daichi shivers, his eyes are red now. Lloyd blinks groggily, before realizing who had a hold on him, what he'd just done, and recoils a bit.

"I didn't know it'd do that!" Lloyd says quickly. Daichi starts hovering.

"The wings of an Angel are the soul of an Angel, and one who is not of the Angel's soul should not touch the Angel's wings." Kratos releases Lloyd. It almost sounded like he had been quoting something.

"Huh?" Lloyd blinks at him.

"... I've never heard that before." Raine's frowning at Kratos. "How do you know that?"

"I've spent more time that I'd like working for the church." Kratos says.

Piers frowns. "So...How is Daichi an angel?" Kratos moves off to the edge of camp again, ignoring them. Lloyd's a bit twitchy, and he won't' look directly at Daichi, or Aurian. Colette's watching a little confused like.

"I don't know." Raine is still watching Kratos. "What do you think, Kratos?" Kratos glances back at her.

"..." He ignores her question. Piers stares at Kratos, his yellow eyes seeming to probe the man. Lloyd looks at him too. "Angels can breed." with that wonderfully worded statement, Kratos rattles his empty canteen, and walks off.

"...I doubt that Daichi's parents were angel..." Piers mumbles.

"Yes. I fully agree with Sir Piers. If they were, surely Sir Daichi would have shown signs before now..." Shikka comments. Raine's frowning at where Kratos vanished to, then sighs.

"Maybe one was? that could dilute the blood." Genis muses.

"He couldn't have been a Chosen. the last Journey was 80 years ago, and the chosen was also of Colette's age." Raine mutters. Aurian's just covering her head and trying to ignore all of this. Lloyd stares at Daichi for a moment, then gives a noise of frustration and rubs furiously at his head.

"I agree with Lloyd." Genis grins. "Sleep on it."

"..." Piers plonks himself down by Lloyd. "What did you see, buddy?"

"..." Lloyd's response is to shudder and shove his face into his pillow. "..."

"That bad?" Piers frowns at Daichi. "I wonder what actually triggered a man his age to stop the habit of a lifetime..."

"..." Lloyd just shudders again. Piers is contemplating, lying down and staring at the sky. "I don't think I want to go back to Iselia." Lloyd mutters into his pillow. "Even if I wasn't banished..."

"Why?" Shikka asks, tail twitching.

"They just... live there." Lloyd's shaking, but it seems like he's angry now. "They ignore the fact that... people are suffering.. in Forcystus's ranch... not a half-hour run from their doors!"

"Humans can be..difficult at times." The laguz admits. Lloyd mutters a much more colorful description. Fortunately, Raine's on the other side of camp. Shikka's ears twitch. He smiles lightly. Lloyd shifts, then groans miserably, rolling onto his back to stare at the sky.

"G'night..." Piers mumbles. Lloyd grunts his reply, falling into twitchy dream land.

* * *

January 6th

* * *

Kratos is poking the fire into life next to the kettle he uses to make coffee. Aurian's sitting on the exact opposite side of camp from Daichi, her blanket wrapped about her. Lloyd seems to be uneasily asleep. Daichi is still hovering there, showing no signs of sleeping. There are a few dead corpses around him. Genis blinks awake, and stares at the dead giant bugs and ax-beaks.

"... Did anyone hear anything last night?" Colette shakes her head, Sheena as well. Aurian nods once, and Lloyd's still snoring.

"...Daichi's a silent killer..." Piers shivers slightly. Lloyd giggles a bit, which makes Genis rolls his eyes. Kratos makes himself coffee, and sits at the edge of camp, ignoring Raine's mildly suspicious gaze. Daichi has his axe in his hand, hovering lightly.

Sheena pokes the corpses a bit. "Yep, he definitely did this." she keeps one eye on Daichi. Daichi stares blandly ahead, with a gaze spookily similar to Kratos'. Kratos is ignoring the lot of them. Aurian scoots over to the fire to make fruited oatmeal.

Piers frowns. "This is weird...Why won't he do anything...?"

"..." Raine frowns at Daichi. Kratos returns to aid with apple peeling.

"Misawa, take your kill out of camp." Kratos says, not looking up from the apple as if it might run from him if he did. Daichi does so, gathering up the corpses and hovering them out of the camp.

"... Huh." Lloyd blinks over his mug. "...You have to tell him to do things?" he muses. Raine is scowling at the back of Kratos's head. Daichi returns, remaining in his place, hovering. Colette's frowning at the sky, and every so often, Aurian glances up too.

"..."

Kratos suddenly looks up. "Scatter!" he shouts, grabbing Aurian and pushing her toward the trees before darting off to shove at Lloyd. Colette need no second warning, nor Sheena and Genis. Raine frowns at him, about to ask when he grabs her and pulls her with him. bestial roars and wing beats tell her the answer. Daichi hovers off somewhere. Piers yelps and ducks after Aurian. Shikka shifts, running after Daichi. five Noishe sized purple scaled beasts with yellow-y orange wing membrane kick up the dust and left sleep items as they land, hissing as they search about the camp.

"..." Kratos mutters something that makes Raine hit him over the head.

"W-What are they?" Piers whispers.

"Wyverns." Genis whispers, putting the Magic Lens down.

"They shouldn't be here." Kratos is glaring at them. "Wyverns do not live in this area..." the conclusion he reaches doesn't appear to be a good one. one of the wyverns is eating their breakfast, and another starts to fight for it.

"If this isn't their habitat..." Raine mutters.

"It means they're ravenous." Kratos draws his blade. Daichi immediately raises his axe. Piers stands slightly. Aurian's muttering to herself, her fingers twitching.

"Then we'd better take them out." Lloyd mutters, drawing his blades quietly. Genis gulps, drawing his Kendama out. Sheena shifts away, and unfortunately steps on a twig. The five wyverns all turn to look in her direction, and Kratos and Lloyd spring from the forest to hack-and-slash. Daichi zooms in.

"Ruin of Destruction!" He jumps up, doing a flip, crashing down on a wyvern. The resulting slam causes a blast, much like Demon Fang, to shoot over to another wyvern. Kratos is chaining Artes, Genis casting his spells, settling on ice as that's what makes the Wyverns wail most. Aurian is doing something strange, her hands glowing two different Mana colors as she sketches out the spell-seals. Raine quickly heals Lloyd of claw cuts before moving in the trees. Piers is casting ice-based spells also. Daichi just seems to be chaining multiple dark-sounding Artes. Aurian mutters some more, and shoves the two nearly completed spell seals on top of each other, so that she only has one of both brown and golden yellow. one of the Wyverns takes off, and Colette follows it, throwing her Chakrams.

"Roar of the earth, loose thy gleaming fangs into the flesh of my enemies.." Aurian whispers. Piers keeps speed-casting. "Crystal Spears!" Aurian presses her palm into the seal, and the ground under the three sort of pinned Wyverns rumbles. Kratos seems to recognize what's going to happen, because he grabs Lloyd by the suspenders as he moves back. Large crystals stab up from the ground, rather like the Grave spell, but in a larger, shinier way. One of the Wyverns is killed, and another is keening.

"Icicle Rain!" Genis shouts. Shikka is in human form, throwing gels at people who need them.

"Misawa, target more than one!" Kratos snaps, lunging in to strike off the head of the injured one as the crystal spears receed. Colette has knocked the flying one back into the trees, and it comes out on the ground. Sheena turns on it, slapping her seals onto it.

"Oh, blessed one, grant thy servant a portion of thy power..." Daichi seems to be casting something. Aurian's returned to simple spells after a few moments of shaking. Colette begins her Holy Song, hovering still to avoid the Wyverns - Aurian's spell had targeted their wings. Lloyd and Kratos avoid claws and teeth to crowd the remaining two together. "...Give me thine power! Angel Feathers!" Daichi's feathers scatter out, exploding on contact with wyvern pair. and makes it explode in turn. Sheena makes a disgusted noise, as Lloyd spits and scrubs at his face, only to jump backwards as the remaining Wyvern takes a snap at him. Kratos shield bashes it back, the gravely injured beast keening. "Oh, holy one. Cast thy light upon these sinners. Grand Cross!" Daichi yells, the spell striking the wyvern. it keens, and then falls over. Kratos stares at the Wyverns, scowling at them, then repeating that Wyverns did not live in this area, and seeing what was usable of their items. Lloyd heads over to find a stream to get the wyvern gore off him. Piers follows and does the same. Daichi hovers in the spot where he casted. Raine pulls Aurian out of the forest, the elf seemed to be falling asleep on her feet again.

"Daichi, please clean yourself up." Neither of the Sages or Aurian were too messy. Daichi does as he's told, hovering over to the stream and doing just that. Kratos has made a pile of untouched, salvageable, and scrap worthy items, before he begins checking under Wyvern parts for anything of theirs. Daichi hovers back, followed by Piers and Lloyd. Raine shoves at Kratos, who blinks at her, then seems to remember he was caught by the exploding wyvern too, and heads off. Lloyd pokes at the damaged items.

"... damn..." Lloyd sighs.

"... We're going to have to see if we can find a peddler..." Raine is looking at the bedrolls.

"We have enough supplies for going and coming from Tower of Mana, at least..." Genis muses, picking up the stuff that needs to be cleaned.

"We could always see about taking more off monsters." Kratos says.

Piers watches Daichi, frowning. "I wonder why he isn't back to normal."

"I don't suppose simply asking him, or telling him to go back to normal'd work." Lloyd mutters. Colette and Sheena move off to clean up a bit as well.

"Try ordering him." Piers says nudging Lloyd.

"Eh?" Lloyd blinks. "Go back to normal, Daichi." Lloyd says, sounding very convinced that it wasn't going to work. Genis is making sandwiches so they can eat while getting away from the corpses. Daichi stares blandly at Lloyd.

"..." Lloyd stares at Daichi. ".. See? not like it'd work." Lloyd mutters.

"Misawa. Return to your normal state." Kratos must have overheard them as he returned.

Daichi twitches slightly. "C-Can't." Kratos frowns slightly, but wipes it of his face as Raine turns to frown at him.

"...He lacked conviction." Kratos mutters, moving to pick up things that are, or where before the wyverns attacked, his.

"So...He's stuck like this?" Piers says, smirking lightly.

"Seems like it." Lloyd mutters, gathering his stuff. Raine's continuing to watch Kratos, and he's continuing to ignore them all. Piers orders Daichi to collect his stuff, and he does so.

"see? Conviction." Kratos mutters, turning for the way to the Tower of Mana and waiting against a tree.

Daichi blinks, his wings slowly fading. He grunts, falling to his knees, passing out. there's a sort of group "..." moment as everyone stares at Daichi. Raine heads over to check on him with healing spells. He seems to be immensely fatigued and suffering from wounds caused in the Wyvern battle. Raine heals him, and then uses one of her new spells, Charge, so see if it helps. Everyone else stops and waits. Daichi twitches, but he snores lightly in response. Everyone resumes staring at him.

"... Noishe!" Lloyd calls for the green and white dog creature. with a bit of help, they could have Noishe could carry Daichi.

"...I could have carried Sir Daichi." Shikka says.

"It's better to keep track of Noishe." Lloyd says, frowning at the large canine creature. Noishe whines at him. "You know, so you don't run off and get yourself eaten or something!" Kratos snorts, looking back at the Tower of Mana again.

"I guess it's true." Shikka admits. Noishe makes low growl like grumbling complaints as they head to the Tower of Mana with Daichi on his back. "Don't deny it." Shikka mumbles. Noishe whines. Kratos shakes his head as they continue moving on. "I can imagine."

Genis tilts his head. "Are you talking to yourself?" they're almost at the stone courtyard before the Tower.

"No."

"... huh." Genis says, before following Aurian up the steps. Noishe gives them, then Daichi a look, before heading up. he manages not to drop the former Desian. Piers darts in ahead, making a beeline for the exact shelf he left the last time he was here.

"... You remember where you were?" Lloyd blinks. Colette joins him after a second, and Noishe drops Daichi. Daichi falls to the ground with a grunt, starting to stir.

Piers looks at Lloyd, the same book in hand at the same page he left. "Of course."

"..." Lloyd blinks, but writes this off as more Piers Weirdness. Colette and Raine then move to the pedestal. The room glows for a second. Piers replaces the book and Daichi sits up, groaning lightly.

"Oh, you're awake." Genis blinks, while Lloyd studies the doors that... didn't budge.

"...I was asleep?" The half-elf grumbles.

"Passed out, asleep." Genis shrugs.

"... the doors haven't budged." Lloyd announces. "... and they don't have locks either."

He stands, stretching. "What happened?"

"you sprouted wings." Aurian mutters. She's on the opposite side of the room, conveniently next to Kratos, who looked like he was either reading, or re-sorting the shelves.

"I...Sprouted...W-what?"

"Not 'what'. Wings." The elf repeats.

"..." Daichi seems to have went into a state of shock. Lloyd returns, and shoves a roll of bread into Daichi's open mouth. Daichi Mphgls, blinking. Lloyd watches him, a little strangely serious considering what he just did.

Daichi swallows. "What...?"

"Nothing. Thought you might be hungry." Lloyd shrugs, turning away.

"I am." Daichi blinks, having just realized this himself. "Starving. Like I haven't ate in days..." Lloyd fishes out sandwich makings and proceeds to do so. "I...Don't have...Wings?" He looks behind him.

"They faded." Lloyd says, handing over a sandwich. "And then you passed out."

"But...Only Angels have wings. Angels and those Laguz guys." Kratos glances at them as he passes with a book.

"Certain breeds of demons have wings." He points out.

"..." Daichi frowns. "I am not a demon."

"If you are so sure you are not an angel, that is the other option." Kratos goes to the other wall of books, setting the ones he held into shelves.

"... I think they looked like Colette's." Genis says. "Although blue."

"They definitely didn't look like demon wings." Piers confirms.

"B-But...How can I be an angel?"

"Kratos is the opinion that Angels can produce children." Raine says, watching the merc.

"My parents weren't angels..." Daichi says. "I'd remember otherwise. My dad was in a militia and my mother was a healer."

"Huh." Lloyd scratches his nose. "... Dunno." Raine blinks, looking at the floor.

"Genis, Piers, stand on these circles!" Raine demands, stepping on one.

"...Okay." Piers stands on one of the circles.

Daichi is munching at the sandwich made for him. "Hey, Kratos. I have a question." Kratos gives him a glance that says 'oh?', crossing his arms to watch the other three. Raine's cooing over the machine. "Do you know anything more about Angelus Spheres other than what Kvar told us?"

"..." Kratos gives him a blank look. "It has killed far too many." there's a definite undercurrent of anger to that short sentence.

"I'm just thinking..." He frowns. "Angelus. Angel..." He looks at Kratos. "You lost someone in the creation of the sphere?"

"Two." Kratos says shortly. He's definitely angry now.

"...Sorry." Daichi says. He drops the subject, but still looks thoughtful.

"...If you were involved, you would be dead already." Kratos definitely sounds like he's struggling with his anger to get this out. "You have no need to apologize." Lloyd pulls on Kratos's swallowtail.

"You're with us." Kratos blinks, noting the group of Colette, Piers and Shikka off toward the open door. Piers stretches, waiting for Lloyd to catch up. Aurian takes a seat on the circle Piers had vacated, which had shut the door for all of the time it took for her to step on it.

"Ready?" Colette smiles, waiting in the door way. Kratos nods, Lloyd grinning and moving through the door with Colette. Shikka freely shifts to lion form, padding behind the group. It's... the interior of the tower, with a ton of stairs lining the inside. Lloyd gives the stares a look and deflates a little.

"... They aren't going to start moving." Kratos mutters, and starts up. Lloyd mutters and follows.

"Nothing wrong with stairs~" Piers says cheerily.

"There's a lot of them!" Colette says cheerily, but she's cheating with her wings. She's nice enough to keep pace with them as they head up the long spiral of stairs. Lloyd's not having trouble, but he also doesn't look pleased. Shikka is bounding up the stairs, taking point. The monsters are in ones and twos, floating blades half as big as Colette, teddy bears with spikes inside and head that pop off to attack, transparent-white ghosts, and shades reminiscent of the description of Death - cloaks and scythes and little else. Colette is discovered to be most effective against the immaterial with Angel Feathers, Kratos falling in second with his low-level spells. Piers has a sword drawn and is apt against the floating blades, whereas Shikka can take down the possessed teddy bears easily. Lloyd plays the role of Lure, keeping the monsters distracted from the casters. Eventually, they reach the top, which is a square room with a orb in one direction, a red curtain across from it, and a solid wall for the third side, no sign of a door.

"What do we do here...?" Piers asks.

Kratos moves and inspects the orb. "... Lloyd, set fire to the curtain."

"Huh?" Lloyd blinks, about to ask how, before remembering a certain Ring. "... Right. Sorcerer's Ring." Lloyd checks the curtain, before setting the ratty old thing on fire. Piers extinguishes some embers that remain. A beam of light shines from the now uncovered cubby hole, and strikes the orb by Kratos. the orb flashes, then seems to be moving, but it looks a bit more like the light inside it moves than its surface. Colette yelps as the third wall, where the sealed-off cubby hole was, flashes, and reveals a doorway.

"Oooh. Makes sense... Kinda." Piers comments.

"If anyone spots something that doesn't seem to quite fit, let the others know. It is likely part of the seals.. puzzle." Kratos says.

"Oh! It was light, because this is the Seal of Light!" Colette claps her hands. "So it has a light-themed puzzle!"

"Right!" Lloyd grins.

"Puzzles?" Piers says, smiling nostalgically. "I'm great at puzzles." Colette heads through the door, and Kratos blinks, quickly shadowing her.

"Good... cause I'm only so-so on the ones you can hold." Lloyd mutters, following. Piers coughs as if to say that isn't what he meant. Shikka walks alongside Colette and Piers alongside Lloyd. They don't come out into another sealed room, but into a larger hall, them on the second floor and with nowhere to go. there's a metal circle in the floor, with another Oracle stone, and some sort of raised platform behind it across from the metal circle. there's a gap in the railing, as if something could go there, and across the room was another part of the second level with a matching gap. Piers frowns, thinking. He takes the entire room into stock.

"... What's this?" Lloyd's eyeing the metal circle on the floor. It looks familiar to three in the lobby. Piers walks forward, stepping in the circle. the circle behind the oracle stone flashes, and Raine appears.

"Piers! Marvelous!" she cackles, leaning forward, her hand reaching out before she withdraws, even more thrilled. "It must be linked to an apparatus somewhere! Can the rest of you see this side?"

"... No, just you." Lloyd says.

"Lloyd!" that was Genis, although they couldn't see him.

"We can hear you!" Colette smiles.

"Eheheh!" Piers seems slightly modest. "I was just curious because it seemed the same as the entrance."

"This machine is cool." Lloyd says, looking at the metal ring.

"The door on this side has opened. We're going on in as well." Raine says. "Let's meet up and regroup before we reach the seal."

"Understood." Kratos says. Piers and Shikka both nod. Piers waits a bit before stepping off the ring.

Raine steps off the platform, turning to the other two by the door and the remaining two on the rings.

"Let's move out." Raine says, indicating the door that had opened for them. the door to the spiral stair that Lloyd's group had taken shut as she stepped off her ring.

Daichi has seemed to mustered up the energy to stand, stretching. "Ugh...I don't think I can cast..."

"That's fine." Raine says, although she does fish out an orange gel. "Genis, Aurian, and I are casters as well. You and Sheena will be needed for the front lines." Aurian blinks, looking about like she hadn't realized they'd been talking about her.

Daichi nods. "Fair point." He draws his axe.

"Ready?" Raine asks. Aurian quickly gets up and does her best to keep a hold on her glaive.

"Yep!" Genis says. the next room is a long hall, with mirrored blocks, a second level, and strange white orbs that sit there all dull. to the left is a hall, with a red curtain at the end. Above them is a railed ledge with a gap in it, and across from that is another ledge, with a matching gap.

"..." Daichi looks utterly confused at the puzzle.

"Try moving that one west." Raine blinks and looks up. the other half of the party is above their hall part of the room, and Lloyd's pointing at a mirror block that had the mirror so that it would reflect left to up, or from up to left.

"Hi!" Colette waves.

"Try moving that one west." Raine blinks and looks up. the other half of the party is above their hall part of the room, and Lloyd's pointing at a mirror block that had the mirror so that it would reflect left to up, or from up to left.

"Hi!" Colette waves.

Daichi waves back hesitantly. "Uh, hi." Raine nods, shoving the block.

"The balls need light." Colette calls. "the curtain hides a beam of it." Genis moves over and Fire Balls the curtain to ashes. Daichi smirks at Colette's seemingly innocent statement, his mind no doubt warping it. Aurian seems to have seen the pattern as well, because after Raine moves the mirror, and thus adjusts the beam of light, Aurian's adjusted it further, hitting two of the remaining three white orbs. Daichi stands back, watching, not interfering. Raine and Genis make it all work, and then the door at the end of the hall, where there are a trio of old wooden boxes, opens.

"Time for the next room." Raine says. Genis waves bye to the other half. After two sealed rooms, which were easily solved with application of Fire Ball and moving the beam of light via a helpfully placed Mirror Block, they get their own set of stairs. Genis is not pleased with this. Daichi smirks.

"If you wanna ride my shoulders, you can." He offers.

Genis eyes him. "... I'm taking you up on that offer." Raine sighs, but looks a bit winded herself as she waits. Aurian blinks, and pauses ahead of them with Sheena.

"Oh? Go ahead." Daichi crouches a bit. "Any treating me like a horse stuff and you go bouncing back down these stairs." He warns.

".. What's a horse?" Genis asks, but he carefully climbs onto Daichi's shoulders. "... I bet I could cast from up here..." he mutters.

"A Mythical creature...Didn't you know that?" Daichi frowns, standing up to full height, adjusting his glasses.

"Kharlan War Myth." Raine shrugs. "We were going to cover them in a few weeks."

"Oh." Genis shrugs, resting his arms on Daichi's head. Aurian starts walking again, and Raine mutters but follows.

"Humans rode on them." Daichi says. "That's all I really know, apart from reports that they were tasty."

"With garlic." Aurian mutters. "Lots of garlic." Genis spots a monster on a curve above them and looks sneaky. he starts casting just to see if it works. The Kendama's ball bounces perilously close Daichi's head, but never gets close enough to knock his hair about. Raine eyes Aurian speculatively.

"Wonder if you can cast while I attack..." Daichi mumbles. He doesn't move until Genis finishes, flinching occasionally as the bouncing ball is in his peripheral vision.

"As long as I'm not forced to move, my concentration isn't broken." Genis casts Fire Ball on the evil teddy bear that he'd spotted.

"...Should we try it?" Daichi indicates the haunted swords coming closer.

Genis grins a bit evily. "Let's go for it!" Violet flickers about Genis as he plays with the Kendama. Raine sighs, stopping and flickering with gold as she charged her own spell. Aurian clutches her glaive and wavers a bit, Sheena lunging in with seals ready. Daichi chuckles, starting to run for the enemy, axe raised to slash, since he can't use Artes yet. Genis uses his legs to cling as best as he can while he gathers Mana.

"Wanna charge?" he chants, catching the ball. "Thunder Blade!" the electric blade crashes down.

"Wind Blade!" Aurian casts.

"Light!" Raine shouts. "Photon!" Daichi strikes a second after the spells hit. It works, the blade falling to pieces.

"Yeah!" Genis is quite pleased. Aurian pokes through the bits to pick up some items.

Daichi smirks. "Looks like we found a new combo."

"Heh heh heh." Genis cackles a little. "Definitely."

"All right." Raine checks them over for a First Aid need, and finding none, indicates the way on. Daichi proceeds up the stairs, not seeming to mind Genis at all. The top of the stairs spits them out into the long hall again, but up on a higher level than Lloyd's group. Spanning the gap is a bridge of white glowing Mana. Aurian pokes it.

"What's this?" Daichi asks, doing the same as Aurian, poking the bridge.

"... A bridge." Sheena carefully steps on it. It holds. "Guess it's where we go next." Raine nods, following Sheena.

Daichi stands back up. "Is it really this easy?"

"Apparently." Sheena and Raine are on the other side.

"We still don't have the other half of our party." Raine points out. Aurian crosses quickly. Daichi doesn't trust the bridge, but carefully walks over it with Genis still on his shoulders. It holds. Raine's studying a pair of raised stone circles, while Sheena pokes at a warp device that sits quiet and inactive.

Daichi relaxes as soon as his feet are on solid ground. "So. How do we get the others up here..." Raine steps on one circle.

Lloyd appears on the other. "Hey, it's Raine again!"

"..." Daichi frowns. "Magic mirrors?"

"Holograms." Raine says. "We've made it in further. It would be best to regroup here." As she says this, another bright flash lights up the room.

"Oh, look, a bridge!" Colette's voice comes from both the other end of the room, and the hologram.

"..." Daichi smirks lightly. Lloyd's group rejoins Raine's group by crossing the light-bridges.

Piers looks at Daichi and Genis. "...I want a go."

"No."

"Why not!"

"Too big...Headed." He adds the last part silently. Kratos looks vaguely amused, while Lloyd is struck by the sheer awesome of the situation.

"... The warp still isn't active." Sheena says, staring at the metal.

"... Colette, stand on the other circle." Raine says.

Daichi looks at Lloyd. "Don't even think about it."

"Think of what?" Lloyd asks.

Piers smirks. "Exactly. What do you think about?"

Lloyd stares at him. "... Penguins."

"..." Piers frowns. "..Amazing. So do I."

Daichi grunts. "I hate to break up this FASCINATING discussion, but we have a job to do?"

"Oh." Lloyd blinks. Colette steps on the second circle, and another Oracle Stone appears. Colette knows what to do with this, and puts her hand on it. The teleport activates.

Daichi pushes Piers towards Shikka. "Ask him."

"Ready?" Raine asks. Aurian to Kratos nod. Daichi looks up at Genis, shrugging slightly to make the mage sit more comfortably on his broad shoulders.

"For as long as it works!" Genis grins.

"All right." Colette steps onto the warp, Kratos shadowing her. Lloyd follows, with Sheena on his heels. Daichi sighs at the answer, but isn't really bothered about it. He steps onto the warp, followed by Piers and Shikka. Aurian and Raine are the last ones up. the Seal shines and does its clicking thing and begins to spew light Mana.

"Mana... Powerful Mana is coming out!" Genis says, as a beast appears. it's yellow-y, with purple hooves and rings of light and wings. It looks like a horned Pegasus with a mace tail, blade feathers on its hooves,.

"Iubaris." Kratos pockets the Magic lens. "Don't use light." Colette frowns for a second, but takes off anyway. Daichi draws his axe once more, Piers his sword. Piers begins casting Froth as a distraction while Daichi runs in. Genis yelps, but keeps his leg grip as he began casting. Kratos and Lloyd dart in as well, Aurian staying back with Raine.

"Mirage Seal!" Sheena shouts, arte-ing the Seal Beast.

"Item Thief!" Colette just about drops herself on the Iubaris.

"Dark Sphere!" Aurian casts the opposite of Photon on the seal beast, before running from Raine as it charged toward them.

"Converging Fury!" It seems that Daichi has summoned up enough energy to use the Arte. And does so. Genis yelps again, grabbing a handful of Daichi's hair.

"Grave!" the rocks jut out of the ground under the Iubaris, striking it on its underside.

"Hey, I think I got something." Colette hops back to a little above the floor then back into the air.

"Lightning Blade!" Kratos attacks.

"Sorry!" The man says, darting in for another attack. Piers is glowing.

"Froth Sphere!" The bubbles pop painfully on the Iubaris. Shikka pounces and mauls at it.

"Dark Sphere!" Aurian casts it again, but she's a bit gray and shaking. Kratos quickly jumps back before the dark spell implodes about the Iubaris. It rears, flailing its front hooves and the blades on their outside edges spinning. Lloyd yelps, Guardian-ing. Daichi Guardians, too, the sphere covering Genis also.

"Thanks." Genis mutters. "Thunder Blade!" he casts.

"Ring Whirlwind!" Colette flies in for a quick Chakram Attack then flies back out of range.

"Nurse!" Raine heals the lot of them. Piers casts Diamond Dust, Shikka sinking his fangs into a wing. It dies. the seal cracks, golden yellow Mana flowing out.

"Chosen of Regeneration... You have done well in reaching this far." Remiel's voice echoes about them. "Now, offer your prayers at the altar." Daichi shivers slightly at the angels presence.

"...Yes!" Colette flies over. "Oh Goddess Martel, great protector and nurturer of the earth, grant my thy strength!" Colette prays. The yellow glow spreads, then flashes. A woman in a purple sash dress sitting upon a crescent moon appears, holding a staff across her lap and a runic halo above her head.

Piers steps back. "Wh...what?"

"...Where is Aska?" the woman asks.

"Whoa, it talked!" Lloyd starts.

"...Without Aska, I cannot do anything - I cannot form a pact or a vow... Please... Find Aska... in order to restore my power." the woman vanishes, Colette looking confused. A spark descends, and forms Remiel.

"Your journey has been long." Remiel stares blankly at the party for a good moment. Mostly at Daichi. Then he turns his blank gaze at Colette. "You have done well to reach this far, Colette, the Chosen one!"

"Thank you... Lord Remiel." Colette says. Daichi stares blankly back.

"Let us grant you your blessing." Remiel says, staring above the lot of them now.

"...Thank you." Colette says. Sparks fall from the sky above Remiel and flit into Colette.

"You have taken another step closer to becoming an angel, yet you seem anxious." Remiel says.

"Ah, no." Colette looks up. "I'm very happy."

"Hmm...?" Remiel watches her. "Now, Chosen One. Your journey is finally drawing to a close. It is time for you to rejoice. The path to the Tower of Salvation is open! Head to the Tower of salvation and offer your prayers of regeneration! Then, you will be able to climb the stairway of heaven."

Piers relaxes slightly. "Finally. This is nearly over!"

"The Tower of Salvation?" Lloyd's imagining climbing all of the stairs inside that thing to the top.

"The World Regeneration is going to finally going to take place." Genis sounds awed from his place on Daichi's shoulders.

"Is regeneration... really going to happen...?" Sheena mutters.

"I shall do as you instruct, Lord Remiel!" Colette says.

Daichi smiles lightly. "Finally..." He mumbles.

Remiel vanishes. "I shall await you at the final seal. Colette... my daughter. There, you shall become an angel, like me." Colette lands and her wings vanish.

"The end is finally in sight." Kratos's tone and expression are unreadable as he turns about. "Let's head to the Tower of Salvation."

"Colette... are you sure?" Raine asks softly.

"... Yes." Colette smiles. "I'm fine."

"... Dammit!" Lloyd mutters.

Piers frowns at Daichi. "Why did Remiel look at you?"

"I-I dunno..."

"He never looks at anyone other than Colette, and even that's rare." Piers presses.

"C'mon." Genis taps Daichi's head. "They're leaving." True enough, Kratos was vanishing on the warp.

"..." Daichi sighs. He turns to leave also, Piers following him. Aurian's shaking enough that her grip on her glaive keeps failing every few paces. Turns out that using Dark Mana burns her a bit, marking the elf as being aligned with Light as well as Wind. The trip out of the tower was easy. Once in the courtyard, Colette falls to her knees.

Daichi, who was one of the last out, blinks. "C-Colette!"

Lloyd hurries over. "Professor Sage! It's Colette's Angel Toxicosis..." Colette's shaking, once again nearly blue lipped.

"I see." Raine says, as it was a bit obvious by looking at the blond. "Let's rest here for today." Colette makes a weak gasping noise.

Piers frowns, walking over. "Damn...We win and then we lose..."

"What's wrong, Colette?" Lloyd asks, sounding a little pained.

"I would assume she's lost her voice." Kratos points out. Aurian blinks, looking startled along with Genis and Sheena.

"What?" Genis yelps. Colette makes a gasping noise again. Daichi yelps as Genis inadvertantly tightens his legs around the half-elf's neck. Lloyd helps Colette up.

"Genis, let him breathe." Raine says.

"B-but..." Genis realized what his legs were doing and stops choking Daichi. Kratos turns and starts making a camp fire. Sheena stares at the ground for a bit while Lloyd helps Colette to seat on her bedroll. Daichi gasps, starting to turn a normal color again. He plucks Genis off his shoulders, setting the boy down, panting.

* * *

Yay plot twists :D


	30. Tale of Two

"... Everyone, I have something to say." Sheena looks up.

"Huh?" Lloyd blinks, Kratos glancing over from where he sat by the fire, starting dinner with Noishe's supervision. Shikka mumbles about why Noishe gets to supervise the dinner preparations. Kratos offers him some dried bit of fish.

"I want to explain to everyone why I was trying to assassinate the Chosen." Sheena continues.

"All right." Raine sits down. "We're listening. Tell us about your homeland. A land that doesn't exist in this world."

"You knew?" Sheena is shocked.

"No. But you said it yourself that Sylvarant will be saved." Raine says. "That must mean that you aren't from Sylvarant." Shikka munches the fish happily.

"Yeah..." Sheena scratches the side of her head. "You know, it's really a shame your intellect's being wasted here. You're right. My homeland is not here, not in Sylvarant."

"What does that mean?" Genis asks.

"My world is called Tethe'Alla." Sheena says.

"... Tethe'Alla?" Genis asks. "You mean the moon?"

"What if that's not a moon?" Daichi asks.

"Haha, of course not." Sheena laughs the moon-alien theory away. "My world isn't on the moon. Even I really don't understand the specifics, but there is another world that lies entwined with Sylvarant, as shadow is to light. That's Tethe'Alla…my world."

"...Then it's entirely possible for my world to exist, also?" Shikka asks.

"I've never heard of it, but yes, it is possible." Sheena scratches her head.

"Two entwined worlds?" Raine muses.

"The two worlds lie directly adjacent to each other. They just can't see one another. Our scholars say they exist on shifted dimensions. Anyway, the two worlds can't see or touch each other, but they do in fact exist next to and affect each other." Sheena explains. "Based on what I know."

Piers leans against a wall, frowning. "Hm. So...Do you know what'll happen to Tethe'Alla when we complete the World Regeneration?"

"You catch on quick." Sheena mutters, giving a wry grin. "If Colette completes the Sylvaranti Regeneration, Tethe'Alla will begin to decline, because right now Sylvarant is."

"... The Journey is the process of reversing the Mana flow..." Raine mutters.

Daichi looks to Kratos. "Did you know of this, by any chance? You seem to be the most knowledgeable about the journey."

Kratos blinks at them over his shoulder, a potato half-peeled in his hand. "...I was unaware that Sheena was from a different world." Kratos says, going back to the cooking.

"Exactly." Sheena says about Raine's comment. "When a Chosen breaks a Seal, the Mana flow is reversed, and the Summon of that seal awakes."

"..." Daichi mumbles something about avoiding the question. Kratos pretends he didn't hear it.

"I was sent to prevent that worlds regeneration from happening." Sheena says. "I broke through the supposedly impassable dimensional fissure for the sake of protecting Tethe'Alla."

Lloyd stands, frowning. "In other words, to assure the decline and destruction of Sylvarant?"

"It's like an hourglass. One world is destined to decline." Piers states. Colette stands again, looking mutely worried.

"You can say that, but your journey of regeneration is also an attempt to destroy Tethe'Alla. We're both doing the same thing." Sheena shrugs.

"It's hard for me to believe all of this." Raine mutters, although she's looking rather thoughtful.

"I'm the proof. I posses summoning arts that have been lost from this world." Sheena taps her shoulder.

Daichi looks up. "What about Piers? He's Sylvaranti and he can summon."

"But he can't summon the Summon Spirits." Sheena points out.

"Fair point." Daichi says. Piers looks slightly shot down.

"..." Colette attempts to speak, and fails.

"…Please don't look at me like that, Colette. I know that wasn't your intention. I don't know what I should do either. I came here to protect Tethe'Alla, but this world is impoverished and everyone is suffering." Sheena says. "But if I allow the world regeneration to occur, then Tethe'Alla will become just like this."

"Well, this has happened every generation, right?" Daichi adds. "So, this should balance everything out."

"Sylvarant has not had a successful regeneration in 800 years." Kratos adds his two gald. "It is not given that one will succeed."

"But right now... You're helping us, right?" Genis asks.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I can just abandon Tethe'Alla! I…I don't know what to do. Isn't there any other way? A way for Sylvarant, Tethe'Alla, and Colette to all be happy?" Sheena asks.

"I want to know, too!" Lloyd says.

"Have you considered that perhaps nothing that convenient exists in the real world?" Raine says.

"... The best thing we can do is to save Sylvarant from its current crisis." Kratos says dully.

"What if we don't regenerate the world and just defeat the Desians?" Lloyd asks.

"Then Sylvarant will still be lacking its lifeblood: Mana. What if the Desians have taken too much to power their tech?" Piers points out.

"We cannot possibly eliminate all the Desians, even if we succeeded in destroying a ranch... or two." Kratos expands upon Piers' point. "Mana will still be depleted."

"... Is Mana really that important?" Lloyd asks, frowning. "..." Everyone gives Lloyd the 'You're that stupid?' look.

Genis sighs. "I suppose only magic uses and scholars worry about it. But Mana is even more important to life than water." Genis explains.

"And that's a big thing, since water is 70% of the human body." Piers chimes in.

Lloyd looks like he's distracted. "What about Dwarves? and Elves?"

"... that's not the point, Lloyd." Raine sighs.

"Without it, the land will die. Mana is the source material which composes everything. At least that's what I've been taught." Genis shrugs. Piers just stares at Lloyd blankly.

"What about Angels?" Lloyd blinks, tilting his head.

"..." Everyone gives him the look again.

"See this face?" Piers indicates his blank expression. "This is how your brain looks."

"... What about the robots..." Lloyd mutters.

"...What are robots?" Daichi asks. Everyone gives him the look now.

"You don't remember the floating metal things that shot at us? In that blue place in the desert, and in the two previous ranches?" Lloyd asks.

"You lived in one, remember?" Genis points out. Aurian looks like she's thinking about the frying pan again.

"...I can't remember the tech-y stuff." Daichi says, noticing the look and wanting to move on.

"Blue place? The Ambiguously Camp Pimp Mansion?" Piers asks.

"... yeah." Lloyd says. Raine coughs. "Unfortunately, the Giant Tree of ever-flowing Mana in fairy tales doesn't exist in the real world. We live by chipping away at the limited amount of available Mana. Why do you think the ancient magitechnology was lost?" Raine drags us back to the conversation.

"What about finding a way to plant a new tree?" Daichi asks.

"..." Everyone sort of stares at him.

Kratos turns about finally. "We would require a seed of the Kharlan Tree." Kratos says, looking like he was trying to remember something as he glances away. "Not any tree is capable of producing Mana in the amount that civilizations require. The Kharlan Tree was brought from the lands of Derris-Kharlan by the elves, it is not something found upon the land."

"...Damn. Well, so much for that idea." Daichi mutters. Raine frowns at Kratos.

".. I read." Kratos says blandly, turning back to his cooking.

"So Magitechnology was lost due to the loss of Mana." Sheena mutters, going back to the question Raine posed.

"Correct. Magitechnology consumes large amounts of Mana. If things continue the way they are now, Sylvarant will eventually lose its Mana just as it lost its magitechnology, and be destroyed." Raine says.

"So, we need to reverse the flow." Piers concludes.

"But you'll destroy Tethe'Alla!" Sheena shouts, but she really looks torn. "Our civilization will shatter, our structure vanish!"

Colette quickly grabs onto Lloyd's hand, turning it so that it was palm up.

"Colette?" Lloyd blinks, then stares at his palm as she traced. "R...e...m...i.. Oh! You're spelling things! Ahh. 'I'll... try... asking... Remiel... if... there's... a... way... to... save... the two... worlds'."

"Hmph. Not likely he'll answer. I get a strange feeling about him now." Daichi comments.

Sheena grimaces, looking down. "If it doesn't work out, I may have to kill you after all."

"Sheena!" Genis yelps. Colette blinked at Sheena, then grabbed Lloyd's hand again.

"'When…that…time…comes…I…may…fight…back…because…I…love…Sylvarant…too.'" Lloyd speaks for Colette.

"Also, you'd have to fight through all of us." Piers states dryly.

Sheena looks away. "I understand." She says, crossing her arms, before glancing back at Colette. "You intend to become an angel, no matter what, don't you?" Colette smiles. Kratos leaves the pot next to the stack of bowls, his own in his hand as he moved for the stairs. Piers starts dishing the food out. Colette smilingly declines, as there had been a quick moment of Raine explaining shoved in before Sheena told them that there was another planet nearby, and Lloyd looks a bit put off, but digs in anyway. Piers sighs at the depressive mood. Lloyd mutters to himself about it, but doesn't do much else. Aurian was very intent on her bowl, sorting the contents with her spoon. Colette got up and wandered to look over at the ocean. After a while, Piers stands and walks over, standing by Colette by the ocean. Colette tilts her head, smiling a little. She silently waves at Piers.

Piers waves back. "You never lose that smile." the smile goes a little wry, then full force as she looks back out at the ocean. Piers looks out to the ocean too. "It's beautiful. The water..." He sighs. Colette tilts her head, nodding. She then makes a spreading gesture with her hand, the trees, and the tower, and the party behind them included, smiling at Piers. Piers nods. "I guess so. Everything has a certain beauty. Even Lloyd if you squint a bit." Colette covers her mouth the way she would if she would be giggling, before pointing at Kratos with a smile and a tilted head. "I concur." Piers states. Kratos glances their way, looking a little confused, as Colette covers her mouth like she was giggling again.

* * *

January 8th

* * *

Daichi stands, stretching. "We're going to Hima next?"

"Yes." Raine nods. Colette grabs onto Genis' hand this time.

"...We... have... to... save... Pietro?" Genis says for her. Colette nods.

"Right, we promised." Sheena says, fixing her pack.

* * *

January 13th

* * *

After finally making it up the mountain trail, Colette grabbed Raine's hand.

"Yes, Colette, I know." Raine doesn't vocalize her message. "I should be able to save him now." Colette lets her hand go. "Let's go." Raine heads for the inn. Sophia blinks as Raine opens the door to the room where she'd been last.

"Everyone!" Pietro is more or less comatose on the bed. "The healing technique..."

"We found it." Sheena says, while Raine makes a beeline for the bed.

"I'm going to try it now." Raine pulls her staff out. "All right?"

"Yes! Please!" Sophia backs up.

Raine holds her staff out, Mana flitting about. "... Resurrection!"

and like that, Pietro wakes up. "Where am..."

"He woke up!" Sophia's thrilled. "Thank the Goddess!"

Piers watches. "I do have Reviving spells, you know."

"... no, I didn't." Raine says, frowning.

"..." Everyone stares at him.

"... You could have tried that in the beginning..." Genis shakes his head.

"I didn't know we needed a revive spell."

"..." Pietro, Sophia, and Sheena have had a conversation. it draws the parties attention when Pietro announces that he can now wait for the Chosen.

"The Chosen?" Sheena asks. "What do you mean?"

"The reason I broke out of the ranch was because I have something I need to tell the Chosen." Pietro says.

"If you're looking for the Chosen, she's right here." Genis indicates Colette, who smiles.

"What?" Sophia double takes. "Y..you're the Chosen?" Colette nods, smiling.

"Oh, Goddess Martel!" Pietro is happy. "Thank you!"

"...Goddess, huh?" Lloyd mutters, scuffing a boot on the floor. "... man..." It's clearly not meant to be heard by anyone.

"The Desians are trying to revive something called the Angelus Project." Cue Kratos's expression turning sour. "They're also developing a weapon called the Mana Cannon."

"Mana Cannon? Do you mean Thor's Hammer, from the Ancient War?" Kratos is again incredulous and displeased.

"Well, I'd think that it's obvious. It's a cannon that fires Mana." Daichi says.

"It's a MagiTech weapon that _wastes_ Mana." Kratos is displeased as he adds onto Daichi's comment, crossing his arms.

"I don't know the details." Pietro says, looking a bit worried. "They are using things called Exspheres in these sinister experiments. Please, stop this Angelus Project with the power of the Chosen, and save us all!"

"Relax. We already kicked Kvar's ass. Or removed it." Daichi comments. There's a second where there's something disturbingly close to a smug smile on Kratos's face, while Lloyd shudders with a small noise and Sheena looks away.

"And we rescued the people held there." Genis adds.

"It's because of that jewel you had." Sheena points out.

"Is that true?" Pietro is very relieved. "I knew we could count on the Chosen!"

"I am concerned about the Mana Cannon." Raine says, crossing her arms.

"Yes... but we won't get anywhere pondering it here." Kratos seems to be thinking.

"Could this technique be used to save Clara as well?" Genis asks. "Or do we use Piers?"

"Don't say it like I'm some kinda item..." Piers mumbles.

"If we can find her, and when we have time." Kratos shrugs. Having no more need to be standing about the room, they leave the inn after reserving rooms for the night - it was getting dark.

You can get a good view of the Tower of Salvation from the mountain in the back of this village." Raine says. "Let's have a good look at the Tower of Salvation and think about what we're all going to do."

"…Yeah." Lloyd mutters. The trip to the top of the mountain behind Hima doesn't take them that long, and indeed, there is a very clear view of the Tower of Salvation.

"So...That's the tower?" Daichi asks. "It sends shivers down my spine. Knowing that this journey will be at an end soon." Everyone sort of gives him a look - no matter where they are, the Tower was always visible in the horizon.

"Looking at it like this, it feels really close." Lloyd mutters. Piers sits on the edge, legs dangling over the edge.

"But it's really far away." Genis notes. "And it looks like there's no path leading to it." Which would mean they're screwed.

"Well. We have two people who can fly." Piers points out.

"And we have a party of nine." Raine points out.

"So, they'll make several trips. It's not like we'll find dragons around here or something."

"You there!" A man comes up the path behind them. He's got an afro. "Have you ever wanted to get a closer view of the Tower of Salvation?"

"Wh..what did you say?" Lloyd's a bit confused, and a bit thrilled that apparently there IS a way.

"Oh, I can see from that reaction you are interested!" the man's thrilled. Piers perks, looking around.

"Can you really go to the Tower of Salvation?" Lloyd asks.

"Ahem." the Afro-man straightens. "Welcome to Dragon Tours. My humble dragons and I shall show you the way to the Tower of Salvation." Piers face-palms.

"Screw you, fate. Screw you." Daichi and Lloyd both open their mouths to say something before Piers interrupts. "Not a word or you'll be spending the night in a glacier."

"Dragon Tours? What kind of shady business is he running?" Genis mutters.

"But it would be possible to reach the Tower of Salvation from the air..." Raine mutters.

"Okay! We want to ride the dragons!" Lloyd grins.

"Ride the dragons? Like in the air?" Daichi stutters a bit, paling lightly.

"... No, it's going to walk." Kratos allows himself some sarcasm. Daichi pulls out the nearest available object from his pack, a tomato, and throws it at Kratos. Kratos goes white, and ducks it. Daichi mutters under his breath.

"Great! You have the honor of being the very first customers of the Dragon Tour! Let's see now, ten people means... five dragons… Here's a special price available only today! It'll be 10,000 Gald!" The entire group stares at him for a moment.

"That's expensive!" Lloyd yelps.

"But it can't be helped." Raine mutters. "We have to get to the Tower of Salvation."

"Yeah, it's for the world regeneration..." Genis mutters, fishing in pockets.

"Wha…what did you say? Are you the Chosen's group..?" the Dragon Tamer recoils. Colette smiles.

Piers nods. "The Chosen is right here." He points.

"Oh, my! No, no, no, this won't do at all! I can't possibly take money from the Chosen! Please put that money away!" He waves his hands before him. Genis gives him a look.

"We haven't taken it out yet." Genis mutters.

"In that case, I'll ready four high-class dragons for you by tomorrow morning! Of course, I will not accept any money! However..." he trails off.

"...However?" Daichi says.

"What is it?" Raine asks.

"I've heard that the area around the Tower of Salvation is dangerous, so..." the man scratches his head, or his hair. "If you could just...I mean, my cute little dragons are..."

"Dragons are hardly cute, but we'll try to get them back safely." Daichi says.

"Try being the operative word." Piers adds.

"Not a problem." Raine says, glancing at the other two. "When we reach our destination, we will release the dragons to you. If that is all right with everyone?"

"I have no objections." Kratos stops pretending to be a statue again.

"Yeah. We'll figure out how to get back when the times comes." Lloyd shrugs.

"I understand. Well then, I shall await you all here tomorrow morning. There are preparations to make, so I'll take leave." The dragon Tamer left.

"Let's split up for tonight." Raine says, rubbing her head. "Don't go outside the village. Understood?"

"Yup." Genis wanders to the inn.

"...Got it." Sheena heads up the mountain path.

"We'll be leaving in the morning." Kratos sort of stalks off. Daichi mumbles at not being allowed to leave the village. It seemed he wanted to go beat up monsters. Colette reaches for Raine.

"You want to thank me?" Raine asks. Colette offers a small smile. Lloyd blinks about, then wanders toward the stall of a store. "Don't worry about it." Colette drops her hand. "Despite knowing what your future holds, this is all I can do for you." Daichi seems to have disappeared somewhere. Three guesses where. Lloyd returns from talking to both Sheena and Kratos, looking about with his hands in his pockets. Aurian is throwing rocks up the hill and watching them roll back down. Piers is sitting in the same place he was, playing with the water in the puddles, making intricate arcs and patterns.

"... Shouldn't you be.. saving your energy?" Lloyd asks, watching.

"This barely uses anything." Piers says. He doesn't even seem to be controlling it.

"Huh." Lloyd scratches behind an ear. "Kinda cool." He mutters watching the water.

"Is it? I guess it is." Piers sighs. "So, our journey is coming to an end?"

"Yeah." Lloyd shoves his hands in his pockets.

"Any idea what we're gonna do after?"

"I'ma get a boat." Lloyd says, grinning. "I wanna see the world that way." He scratches the side of his nose. "I asked Kratos to join up, he said he'd think about it..." he grins at the tower. "Maybe after Colette climbs the tower, she can come back and tell us, and come with!"

"Mind if I join? You'll need a decent sailor with you."

"Nope!" Lloyd grins at Piers. "More friends, more fun!"

"Great." Piers sighs, leaning back before standing. "Well, I'm gonna go get some sleep."

"M'k." Lloyd blinks. "Do you want me to wake you up when we make dinner?"

"Sure, that'd be great." Piers smiles. He seems sombre and serious for once, as if his usual attitude is just an act. Lloyd blinks, tilting his head, before watching Aurian throw rocks up and catch them as they rolled back down to her.

"Having fun?" he asks.

"..." Aurian looks confused at his choice of words.

"... Do you like doing that?" Lloyd seems to have trouble remembering the problems Aurian had.

"... Think so." Aurian caught another pebble and tossed it back up.

"What are you going to do?" Lloyd asks. "After the seal?" Aurian scrounged up a handful more pebbles and offered some to Lloyd.

"... Find a place." Aurian mumbles. Lloyd watches her toss the pebbles, and catch them as they rolled down, and tried himself.

"In a town?" Lloyd caught about half of them as they rolled back.

"No." the elf says with a shudder. "Woods, maybe." She tosses and catches the pebbles.

"Iselia's nice, for woods." Lloyd gets more this time than last time. "It's not too warm, but it only snows once in a while."

"...Maybe." Aurian seems to have gotten bored of her game, and returns to the inn as well. Lloyd looks about, trying to spot Shikka after Aurian wandered back to the inn. The lion man's tail is flicking out from behind a rock.

Lloyd carefully goes around the rock. "Hello." The giant lion is lazing in the sun.

He raises a paw. "Yo."

"What're you doing?" Lloyd plunks himself down next to Shikka, reaching over and scratching behind his ears.

The lion purrs. "Enjoying the sun while it lasts."

"Ahhh." Lloyd keeps scratching. "Pretty, isn't it?" He's talking about the sunset itself, which is staining the sky bright colors.

"Yep. Think it'll be any different when we regenerate the world?"

Lloyd scratches his nose. "... prettier?"

"As in more Vibr..." He stops, remembering Lloyd's vocabulary, or lack thereof. "Colorful."

"Maybe. Or longer..." Lloyd tilts his head. "You when you wait for it, or just wait for it, but then you get a snack, turn around and it's gone?"

"I know that feeling." He scratches his soft underbelly with a paw. "My home has dazzling sunsets.

"Huh." Lloyd keeps scratching. "... You're going to go home after this, right?"

"I'm going to try. I don't know how I got here, remember?" He sighs. "And the others had promised not to say how they got here..."

"... well..." Lloyd scratches his nose in time with his ear scratching on Shikka. "... You could travel with me. I plan to get a boat and go around the world." he pauses. "... but you don't like boats..."

"Never seen a boat that looks safe."

"..." Lloyd tilts his head back and forth as he things. "What if you help me make it so it looks safe?"

"Still wouldn't. I'm not a craftsman, so it would fail."

"... Oh." Lloyd blinks. Shikka suddenly rolls onto his front, stretching, yawning. Lloyd blinks. "Eh?"

"Time to go back." He shifts back into human form, stretching.

"Aahh." Lloyd blinks. "I'll be back in a bit." Lloyd wanders up the cliff. Lloyd wanders into the inn behind Colette, and turns toward where he is fairly certain he can find Daichi.

Lloyd is suddenly seized into a one-armed hug by the large half-elf. "Yo, Lloyd."

"..." Lloyd sort of stares at him. "Hi...?" The man lets the boy go, sitting in the stool he was occupying. "... You're drunk." Lloyd accuses.

"Not yet~!" The man announces.

"I think you are." Lloyd crosses his arms. "Doesn't that make you grumpy the next day?"

"Not when I've only had 7." Lloyd stares blankly at him. "What?"

"You're always grumpy for like... the first half-hour after you wake up." Lloyd points out. "Especially after staying up late down in the.. tavern...?"

"I'm just not a morning person. You have difficulty keeping your eyes open until you've had coffee."

"... meh." Lloyd grumbles.

"Exactly." He drinks down one last one. "Done now, anyway. Something on your mind, kid?" Lloyd gives him a moderately annoyed look.

"I'm not a kid." he mutters. "... What're you gonna do after the Seal?" Lloyd pushes his annoyance aside to ask.

"Aaah...I dunno. Unless half-elf prejudice dies down, I'm kinda screwed..."

"Ahh..." Lloyd scratches his nose. "... You could come with me on a boat."

"I think you'd get sick of me. For one, I snore remember?"

"That's what pillows are for."

Daichi frowns. "...So that's why I always wake up out of breath..."

"... No, I sleep with my head under my pillow..." Lloyd says slowly, not quite getting what Daichi was saying.

"..." Daichi just shrugs, realizing that the teen hasn't got much life experience to twig. Genis suddenly chases Raine down the stairs.

"I told you not to go into the kitchen while I was in the bathroom!" is most of the smaller Sage's rant.

"..." Daichi stares. "What the...?"

".. Raine likes to try to cook." Lloyd explains, while Raine protests and keeps fleeing. "Genis usually bans her from the kitchen, but she tries to... help, when he's not in... And 'cause Kratos hasn't let her try since that one time on the Ossa Trail, i guess she just really wanted to..."

"Aye. Her cooking is..." He searches for an apt word. "Unique."

"try 'catastrophic'." Lloyd says carefully.

"True."

"... I used it right?" Lloyd brightens as Genis returns to the kitchen, although his face appeared every couple of minutes to glare suspiciously about as if Raine was hovering outside trying to get in. Daichi stands and wanders to the door, standing guard. Once Genis stops being paranoid as he fixes dinner, it doesn't take long for it to be up to the mage's standards, and ready. Lloyd makes good on his promise to Piers, heading to the rooms to wake him for dinner. Piers is easily woken, walking down with Lloyd. Apart from Daichi's unusually happy mood, there's no other evidence that he's been drinking. Therefore, no excuse for Kratos to exact his cruel punishment. Not that Kratos is paying attention to much. He seems even more withdrawn than should be possible for a living being. Colette is sitting with them, smiling happily while Genis served the meal. Shikka materializes from somewhere to eat. Aurian picks her food to pieces and eats it that way, Lloyd inhaling food with occasional pauses where he'd glance at Colette, then grimace and continue. Raine and Sheena eat perfectly normally, while Kratos seems to be spending more time moving on his plate than eating it. Genis seems to have gotten the brunt of depression and it's affecting his will to eat. Piers locks eyes with Lloyd and then at Genis' plate of food. Lloyd grins, grabbing a roll, and the top of Genis's head.

"Food!" He cheers, and attempts to feed Genis. Piers takes over the holding of Genis' head. Daichi is standing to go to bed. Or the bathroom. Whichever comes first. Genis flails, managing to bop Lloyd in the face hard enough to startle Lloyd into flailing back out of his seat and grabbing onto Daichi. Daichi yelps, grabbing onto Piers, pulling him back. Piers in turn grabs Genis. Genis yelps, and grabs onto Shikka's tail, Lloyd already slipping from his seat. Shikka mewlps, clawing at Kratos like a scared cat.

Kratos blinks, and overreacts to get out of Shikka's reach. "No." Kratos falls out of his chair, and the chain of grabbing to avoid falling finally collapses. Ending up with two thirds the party on the floor. Shikka is on top with the others beneath the lion flailing about. Lloyd writhes and wiggles and manages to squirm out from under them. He spends the next moment simply breathing. Raine sighs, and looks like she's about to help pull them apart before Genis is crushed. Aurian giggles. Shikka poofs into lion before staring at Aurian. Daichi and Piers do also. Lloyd pauses in trying to free Genis by the ankles to stare at her as well, as her giggles turn into that awkward laughter of someone who hasn't, and it's just sort of coming out. Kratos is also giving her a strange look, before Colette covers her mouth like she's laughing too. Piers starts laughing, too. Daichi, not one to laugh at this sort of thing, is chuckling away anyway. Lloyd and Genis join in first, before Sheena starts, and by this time Aurian's gone silent because she's not getting enough air, and falls out of her chair. Kratos simply leaves.

Daichi notices this. "Kratos is a buzzkill..."

Lloyd manages to stop laughing long enough to gasp out. "Maybe... he's not happy... about losing his paycheck tomorrow?"

"He actually gets paid?" Daichi asks.

"Phaidra pays him." Raine shrugs.

"...Huh." Sheena crosses her arms, and looks at the plates.

"... My stomach hurts now." Lloyd complains, getting back onto his chair. Piers helps Daichi and Genis up. Aurian's still giggling weakly on the floor, curled in a little ball. Raine's watching her a bit worriedly. Shikka pads over, nudging her with his muzzle. Aurian blinks up. She's got those tear-streaks from laughing to much, but she latches onto Shikka.

"... I'm guessing she's fine." Raine says slowly. Shikka blinkblinkblinks and then just lies down with an elf attachment. She's quite happy just to cling to him, and seems that her giggles are calming quite a bit. Lloyd eats a bit more, then decides that he needs to walk around a bit to settle so that he can eat more. So he heads out.

Kratos returns to the inn. Some of his hair is sticking up in a way that indicates electricity did something. He's absently trying to press it back to its normal spikey-ness.

Piers walks past. "Hi Buzzkill."

Kratos glances at him. "Would you rather I had killed something else?" he gives Piers a long stare as he says 'something else'.

Piers blinks. "Anything but me and cute fuzzy things."

"So Misawa is fair game?" Kratos pauses to watch Piers.

"Go for it. I don't think Lloyd would approve. What with his 'saving people' fetish and all."

Lloyd walks in at that moment. "Oh, says mister Water fetish." Kratos looks like he's about to burst out laughing, or turn bright red. "..." Lloyd pauses. ".. What's a fetish?"

"When you're older, Lloyd." Kratos simply turns and goes.

"... but now I wanna know..." Lloyd whines. Piers looks around for an escape.

"Kratos! Kratos is the adult here! He should tell you!" There's a zooming noise and a Piers-shaped dust cloud remains.

"Kraaatooooss!" Lloyd whines. "I wanna know!"

"Ask Misawa. He was the topic that brought it up." Kratos shuts the bathroom door in Lloyd's face. Daichi is currently lying on his bed, falling asleep.

So Lloyd jumps on him. "what's a fetish."

"Gack!" The man blinks at the teen. "W-What?"

"Piers says I have a 'saving people fetish'." Lloyd gets off Daichi. "What's a fetish?"

"...Do I have to?"

"I wanna know." Lloyd crosses his arms.

"I don't wanna tell you."

"... But I wanna know." Lloyd says, frowning.

"Raine will kill me."

"... so it's something bad?"

"It depends. She'll still kill me. And I value my remaining brain cells."

"... I don't get it."

"Wait until you're older, kid."

"That's what Piers said."

"Well, if two people have said that, maybe it's true?"

"... Fine..." Lloyd frowns, then yawns. "... Sleep now then..."

"Yep." Daichi turns from Lloyd, shoving the teen away from him with a foot. Piers appears. Lloyd makes an annoyed face at Daichi's foot, but flops onto a bed. Shikka walks upstairs, flops onto a bed and turns into a lion. Aurian passes their room on her way back to the female room looking a bit puzzled, and Genis is already on a bed, reading the Alchemy book. Kratos shuts the door after taking a head count. Shikka tail-swishes, watching everyone. Lloyd pulls off coat, boots, belts and flops onto his back and wriggles under the covers. Genis is already set up, puts his bookmark in and curls under the blanket better. Kratos pulls his boots and cape off and does a corpse impression on the bed. Daichi is asleep already. Piers finishes reading.

* * *

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay


	31. Final Destination

The fun tiems are about to start

* * *

Lloyd wakes with a start in early morning, his Exsphere sparking turquoise.

"Hnng?" He waves his hand, twitching with the sparks. "Ouch. Sense of impending doom..." Lloyd mutters. He spots that Kratos and all his belongings are gone.

"Colette's missing!" Genis wails. Daichi, Piers and Shikka wake at this.

"Wh-What?" Piers asks, stifling a yawn. Lloyd echoes this, and hurriedly gets dressed.

"Colette's gone! and we can't find Kratos!" Genis says, helping them all repack. "The others are looking about town, but..." They start getting ready.

"Did they go on without us? Shikka asks.

"I don't know!" Genis wails again, rubbing at his head. "Sis went up to the Dragon-keeper to find out, and told me to get you guys and meet her there." Lloyd doesn't need much more urging, looking serious for once. The others get set to follow.

"No-one in town has seen them." Sheena reports, meeting up with them outside the inn. Aurian's behind her, looking worried and a bit scared. Daichi yelps, holding the back of his neck where his Exsphere sparks. The normal blue-purple gem now glows the color of its owners Mana.

It fades after a minute. "What...?" Lloyd's halfway up the mountain path at this point, Sheena and Aurian just behind.

"You okay?" Genis asks, looking a little out of breath at the fast pace but not gasping yet.

"Yeah. Let's go." Daichi mutters. They reach the summit, where four of their five rented rides were waiting.

"They left before dawn." Raine says. "Toward the Tower." the dragon keeper holds the reigns for the other beasts, two riders per dragon.

"Let's go!" Lloyd grabs a set of reigns and vaults onto a dragon. Shikka and Daichi share a dragon. Aurian pulls Sheena up behind her and Genis gets a boost from Raine. "Come on...!" Lloyd's looking a little jumpy, worried. Lloyd gives Piers a hand up behind him, then the dragons take off. "But why only groups of two!" Lloyd's muttering to himself as the dragons speed for the Tower, causing his streamers to flail. "That mean's she's with Kratos, so everything should be fine...!"

"Why does a sentence involving 'Kratos' and 'safe' sound so wrong?" Piers says stuffing Lloyd's streamers down his shirt. Lloyd makes a face, but since he was facing forward, it was lost. It doesn't take them long to reach the tower, and form a queue for landing.

"Where are they?" Lloyd looks around quickly, spotting the Oracle Stone.

"Probably inside." Sheena says, indicating the stairs up. "The door's already open."

Piers nods. "Let's go! They've got a head start."

"... Come on!" Lloyd takes the stairs three at a time, and heads inside, the rest following at a slower, but still quick pace. the inside of the white tower is larger than the outside, or seemed that way with the swirling green darkness above and below, shapes floating in a spiral that somehow managed to avoid the green-glowing translucent path that was suspended by no visible means.

"I wonder what happens if one falls off..." Shikka muses. Aurian pulls out a rock, and drops it over the side. Silence. And more Silence.

"... What's that?" Lloyd's attention is drawn to the floating things as they slow, almost stopping. Aurian's standing like she's cold, staring at the green below, before one moves beneath them.

"... Corpses?" Genis yelps.

"They're coffins..." Daichi points out.

"Corpses go in coffins!" Genis says. They're open topped coffins, so the wrapped body was visible.

"But why are there so many corpses here?" Sheena stares at the white wrapped bodies.

"...Floating burial site?" Piers offers. "I've seen weirder things."

"Inside the symbol of hope, a floating burial site?" Lloyd asks, frowning.

"... They're probably the bodies of the Chosens who have failed up until now." Raine says, looking about and gripping her staff. ".. It's frightening to think that Chosens from the past 800 years come here when they fail..."

"Indeed." Shikka merely says, continuing.

"Dammit..." Lloyd grits his teeth. "That means if Colette fails, then..." He spins around toward the way further in. "Shit!" Ahead of them is a round platform, branches reaching down to its top, larger pillars than those who served ornamental purpose on the bridge rising from it, and dual leveled. In the center of the tower. "Colette's in trouble, we have to find her!" Lloyd starts running.

Once they reached the platform, Colette can be seen, kneeling with her back to them, and glowing lights above.

"Colette!" Lloyd shouts, reaching the platform, but another voice cuts his off.

"Now, my Daughter Colette, Chosen of Regeneration." One of the lights, a golden one, grows into Remiel who opens his wings dramatically. "The moment has come to release the Final Seal!" Remiel lowers so he's almost standing before Colette. "And so, there is one more thing to be done - Sacrifice your life as a human being... You will give your heart, and your memories." Lloyd looks like someone had slapped him. "By doing so of your own free will, you will become a true angel!"

"But..." Lloyd's voice gains strength and then he shouts. "Did you just say, she... she has to sacrifice her heart and memories?" Daichi, Piers and Shikka stare at Remiel.

"Colette's going to forget about us?" Genis shouts, his voice rising like a wail.

"... From here..." Raine says, not looking at the others. "Colette will have to sacrifice being a human... to accept being an angel and complete the Journey of Regeneration." Aurian's ashen.

"..Professor..!" Lloyd glances at the healer, who crosses her arms in a self-hug sort of way.

"So...This is the final trial..." Shikka mumbles.

"Colette! You can't!" Piers yells.

"...I'm sorry. Colette asked me not to tell you." Raine covers her face with a hand. "Colette will give up her life to regenerate the world." Colette is still kneeling, praying. "That's the truth of 'becoming an angel'."

"That's not quite correct..." Remiel says, drawing attention to him. "The Chosen's heart will die, and her body will be offered to the Goddess Martel."

"And Martel is okay with this?" Piers yells. "What kind of benevolent Goddess treats her subjects like this?"

"All-loving." Shikka translates for Lloyd.

"The Goddess is asleep, but by sacrificing her soul, Colette will revive the Goddess!" Remiel says. Lloyd's struggling to get over his shock. "That is the true nature of the Regeneration of the World!" Remiel's arms and wings spread wide. "The revival of the Goddess Martel is the revival of the World itself!"

"That..." Lloyd mumbles. "That's..."

"... Lord Remiel, we have heard that a world known as Tethe'Alla lies parallel to Sylvarant." Remiel stills, his eyes moving to Raine.

"That is not for you to know." He says coldly.

"You kept it a secret because it is true, correct?" Raine counters.

"From whom did you learn of it?" Remiel demands.

"Can't The Cruxis make both worlds peaceful?" Sheena asks.

"Maybe there's no way to share the Mana equally." Daichi mumbles.

"Then put them together." Aurian only whispers it, staring at the floor.

"... If that is what the Chosen desires, she can lend her power to The Cruxis by becoming an Angel. Once the Goddess Martel is revived by the Chosen, the two worlds will surely achieve peace, just as the Chosen wishes." Remiel says.

"Achieve Peace or destroy the world." Shikka says. Colette blinks, and makes the soft air-gasping noise that was all she could do now.

Remiel looks down at her. "Is that true, you ask? You know why you have come here." Colette looks back down, saying nothing.

"You can't..." Sheena says, softly. ".. Are you really planning to die?"

"Colette..." Piers whispers.

"That's not true!" Lloyd nearly screams it. "Colette will have to sacrifice herself to save the world...! Colette, stop! If you sacrifice yourself, your friends who love you... and your family... and ... and me... We'll all be sad! It will be the same as sacrificing all of us!" Colette doesn't respond. "Colette! Wait!" Lloyd lunges, but Raine grabs his arm. Piers does the same, but Daichi grabs him.

"Lloyd!" Lloyd turns his eyes wide and a little wild.

"Professor, let go!"

"I don't want anything to happen to her either. But can you think about the others?" the way Raine says it, it isn't the other party members, tearing up Genis, grim Sheena, terrified Aurian, Piers, Daichi and Shikka, she's talking about the people of the world.

Daichi mutters. "This is her choice..." He chokes slightly on the following words. "What right have we to force people against their will."

"Did you even think that by stopping here, Sylvarant would meet its destruction...!" Lloyd apparently had not.

"But..." Lloyd turned to look back up at kneeling Colette's back.

"The sacrifice of one single person, the chosen, will save the world." Remiel says. "Are you saying that you would choose the Chosen's soul over the entire world?" Lloyd flinches like Remiel had slapped him, thinking.

Shikka frowns. "The few for the many." He mumbles, as though this had happened before.

"Now, Colette... Come join your father." The ring about Colette, the glow under her, flashes brighter. Lloyd twists his arm free of Raine, sudden hope in his eyes.

"Wait! Remiel! Is there really no other way?" Lloyd shouts. "Colette's your daughter. Surely you don't really want her to die either!" Remiel looks scornfully down at them.

Piers manages to squirm free from Daichi. "I get the feeling he doesn't care."

"... My daughter?" The way he said that made Lloyd freeze again. Seems Piers had it right on the dot. "Don't make me laugh. When I came down to play the role of Guardian Angel, you inferior beings just started calling me her father on your own."

"Inferior Beings..." Daichi mutters the phrase as though it was poison. "You..." He points at Remiel. "You're half-elf, correct?

Remiel stares haughtily at him. "I am an Angel of The Cruxis."

"Wh..." Lloyd also seems to have caught onto that. "What...?"

"I merely placed the Cruxis Crystal upon this sacrifice, who was selected to become Martel's Vessel." Remiel continues. Lloyd moves forward, gripping the edge of the second level and vaulting up.

"Colette!" Colette turns and faces him.

_'Lloyd, it's ok._' Colette's voice rings out as she stands in the glowing circle. _'I realized what was going on. Every time I met Remiel, I felt... that he was not my real father. ... but for some reason, I still feel like I want to cry.' _

"Colette! If you realized what was going on, then why...?" Lloyd's voice is trying to break.

_'... You can hear my voice?' _Colette's face brightens_. 'I'm so happy! I'll be able to say goodbye to you in the end.'_

Piers climbs up after. "Colette! You... Can..." Seems he's holding back tears.

"Colette..." Lloyd's voice was breaking. "I'm sorry! I couldn't save you... I'm so sorry! I promised I wouldn't make another mistake, but it looks like I have again..." a field seems to be keeping him away from Colette.

_'No, thank you, Lloyd. And you too, Piers. Because of you two, I was able to find the courage to protect the world.'_

"This is really your choice?" Piers asks.

_'Of course.'_ she smiles, clasping her hands. _'Because of you, I was able to find the strength to live these sixteen years to the fullest. So please...'_ she begins floating, Mana the color of her wings swirling about her.

Piers seems to make some kind of peace. "We'll miss you... Colette..." He whispers her name.

"Colette!" Lloyd screams, obviously not at peace with this, trying to reach her but the Mana buffets him away.

_'It looks like it's time...'_ Colette says, watching Lloyd with a smile on her face. _'Goodbye...'_ Colette's eyes close, and when her wings appear, she exhales all the air in her lungs, and simply doesn't draw it back in.

Piers grabs Lloyd, the mariner crying silently. "This is her choice..."

"You didn't recognize it?" Lloyd screams, trying to shake off Piers. "She had her head tilted, the smile was the same... She would have done that little 'hehe'!" Colette opens her eyes again, her irises the same opaque red as her Cruxis Crystal, dull, dead without, almost unseeing with a lack of pupil.

Piers blinks. "She... Was lying?"

"Yes!" Lloyd shakes Piers off him, turning back to Colette. "Colette!" Lloyd screams again, but the floating angel doesn't respond. "That's... im.. possible.." Lloyd's mind seems to have shut down as he stares at her. "I...I told you... that I'd protect you until the end!" he punches the ground as he falls to his knees. "Colette!" Piers watches, seems his brain has shut down, also.

"..Ha...haha...hahaHAHAHAAAHAAA!" Aurian clamped her hands over her ears as Remiel begins laughing insanely. "I've done it! It's finally complete! Martel's vessel is finally complete! With this, I shall become one of the Four Seraphim!" Remiel looked cracked now.

Piers looks to Remiel. "The four Seraph...? Is that what was in this for you?" He yells up. Remiel doesn't bother answering the inferior beings.

"Wait just a minute!" Sheena shouts, as Remiel flaps his wings once, moving to Colette's side. "What are you gonna do with Colette?"

"He's going to take her to Heaven." Raine says, looking startled as seals form under the two angels floating feet.

"Not so fast! Froth!" Piers fires bubbles at Remiel. They should sting even an angel. Remiel hisses, folding his wings about Colette.

"... It's unforgivable..." Lloyd gets to his feet. "..You bastard!" Lloyd screams with rage at Remiel, clenching his fists. "You'll pay for this!" Raine looks a tad worried at Lloyd's outburst, the anger that contorts his features, as he grabs a blade and draws it angrily. "The Cruxis, the Angels, the Goddess Martel... it's all a big lie, isn't it?"

"Oh...Thanks..." Daichi mutters.

Lloyd shouts. "Let her go, now!"

"That, I cannot do, for she is Martel's Vessel. This is Martel's new body, which took years to complete. I have no use for any of you! Be gone!" Remiel flew into Lloyd and Piers's faces, a glow of light about his hand blasting the teens back to the first level. Piers yelps, the Mana stinging him as well as throwing him back.

"Oh, powerful torrent, cleave mine enemies in twain! Aqua Edge!" Daichi fires the spell. Lloyd manages not to land on his sword, and draws the other, before screaming in rage and Tempest-ing at the solid winged Angel. Remiel moves out of the way of Tempest, but into Aqua Edge.

"Howl that chills the very soul, resound!" Aurian's drawing a large seal in the air that seems to suck the light from around it. Remiel moved his hands, drawing a beam of light that looked quite a bit like a bow.

Piers gets to his feet. "Oh lord of the seas." A pentacle surrounds him as he starts to cast/summon. "Deity of the oceans." Psynergy begins to spark around him, the aura intensifying. "Heed my call. Come to my aid. I summon thee! Boreas!"

"Bloody Howling!" The spell _screams_, causing the elf to cover her ears in pain as she moves away from Piers as the storm of dark Mana engulfs Remiel. Sheena grins at what Piers was doing, and drew out her seals.

"I call upon the maiden of the mists." her seals fly out of her hands in some magical ninja way while Lloyd continues to try to hack Remiel's wings off. Suddenly, a blast of pure Mercury Energy crashes into Remiel. Daichi spreads his wings. Remiel's floored, his wings looking like he's starting to molt. Lloyd takes this as the right time to spam Sword Rain, Beast, and Tiger Blade on the Angel. "I summon thee. Come, Undine!"

"Wanna charge?" Genis shouts, twirling his Kendama while Raine casts Nurse, healing lights flickering over everyone who needs it.

"Oh, faithful protector, hear my cry! Guardian!" The party gets surrounded by an aura of defensive power. Daichi takes to the air. Piers recovers, casting Froth.

"Acuteness!" Raine shouts, boosting their attack, while Genis calls out "Spark Wave!" Lloyd darts back in time for Froth, Spark Wave, and Undine to all collide upon Remiel.

"Oh lightless tempest from distant regions, stretch out thy tenebrous arms and lead my enemies to their eternal slumber." the way that Genis looks at Aurian, he can't believe she's casting this spell in a room.

"Thy faithful servant asketh for thy power. Bring down the light of judgment upon these sinners. Cleanse their dark hearts of evil and vile temptations." Seems ironic.

"Black Hole!" Aurian causes the entire room to distort in their vision, twisting in on the point right next to Remiel. It pulses and Remiel screams in time with them. There's a flicker of light, and ten feet away appears Remiel. His wings are drooping bloody messes, and his robes aren't white and green anymore.

"Feel the hammer of light, sinners! Limited!" Daichi yells, casting.

"Heaven Ray!" Remiel flings an arm out, and thin beams of blindingly white light fall from a magically darkened 'sky' while Cruxis's seal appears on the ground. Limited staggers the angel, but does nothing more. Daichi flaps, looking indifferent. Piers casts Diamond Dust. Remiel flails an arm, and light Mana forms a shield between him and the spell, but not between him and Lloyd's Tempest. Remiel's knocked down to the lower level, and remains there.

Daichi hovers. "Is he dead?" He asks blandly.

"Impossible..." Remiel chokes out, his ruined wings stained red, but he can't stand up, left trying to push himself up on his hands and knees. "How can an Angel, the ultimate being, lose to a group of humans..?"

Lloyd blinks, moved back to Colette. "Colette, come back to us! I'm going to restore you back to your normal self! I promise!"

Daichi points at Remiel. "Angels are not the ultimate being." He comments.

Remiel coughs on blood, and chokes out. "Bastard angel." Colette continues to gently fan her wings, floating there, staring at nothing.

"Colette... have you really forgotten me?"

"You are wasting your time." Kratos says, stepping out of the shadows.

Daichi floats closer. "Die as you have lived. Without pain and without remorse!" Remiel continues coughing.

"Not only did she lose her memory, but she has lost the soul to listen to your words. Now Colette is merely a puppet standing before death's door." Kratos stares over their collective heads, his expression and Colette's eerily similar.

"Kratos!" Genis notices the mercenary, but doesn't say anymore as he registers something wrong about the man. Piers' hands are crackling with raw Alchemaic energy. The room is taking on a shifting blue glow that makes Aurian tremble.

"Where have you been?" Lloyd asks, before a second question comes up as he registers Kratos's words. "What are you saying?"

"The Chosen desired the Regeneration of the World, and chose this path herself." Kratos ignores these questions, staring ahead. Piers points at Remiel, finger crackling, waiting for an excuse. Daichi is the same, finger glowing with holy Mana. "By the summoning of the Chosen to Derris-Kharlan, the seal will be broken, and the Regeneration complete." It sounded like he was the puppet.

"Kratos...?" Lloyd began to feel very uneasy. "What are you talking about..?"

"It is what you desired as well." Kratos says heavily, before gesturing with his left hand. "We will take the Chosen as the new body for Martel."

"We...?" Piers says, rounding on Kratos. Kratos ignores them.

"What are you talking about?" Lloyd shakes his head, confused and angry. "Kratos... Answer me!" Remiel stirs, and attempts to crawl to below where Kratos stood on the second level.

"Lord Kratos, have pity on me." Remiel gasps out. "Please... lend me your aid." Lloyd looks like he's been bitch-slapped, Raine frowning, Aurian shaking her head back and forth in apparent pain.

"Have you forgotten, Remiel?" Kratos didn't even look at the dying angel, his voice cold and hard with scorn. "I was once of the inferior race... a human. Does the ultimate being seek help from that which he despises the most?" While Remiel choked on trying to get an answer out, Pier's blasts Remiel with enough Psynergy to kill the angel. "Move out of the way." Kratos flicks a hand, and Remiel's body vanishes.

"Kratos...?" Lloyd says, staring at the body as it looks like it melts into nothing.

"...Who are you really, Kratos?" Raine asks, staring at him like she expects another name. Light swirls in the room, blues from Navy to Sky, Mana strong enough to be seen.

"Isn't it obvious?" Daichi comments. "He's an angel."

"... Let me show you." Kratos says, voice dead again, the center of the swirling blues. Feathers formed and fell lightly, as the blue condenses into shapes behind him, as he removes his Exsphere on his left hand and pockets it. "I am of The Cruxis, the organization that guides this world." Kratos says as the shapes, four on each side of his back, start to grow into focus.

Daichi turns and looks. "I knew it."

"I am one of the Four Seraphim, sent forth to keep close watch over the Chosen." There's a flash from under his shirt and armor, crimson, as his wings beat once, but don't lift him, fanning slowly. They were shifting blue, swirling through the colors of the Mana that stirred through the room, and bathed him in a glow of the same color. His wings were like Colette's, but taller and a little shorter. Piers is taken aback, the remaining sparks dissipating. Aurian makes a weak noise, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood, while Lloyd also appears to be in shock.

"Kratos is an Angel too?" Genis wails, breaking the shocked silence.

"That's..." Lloyd struggles. "This is a joke, right...!" Lloyd's voice breaks. "You aren't really..."

"If the Chosen merges with Martel, she will awaken, and the world will be saved." Kratos says like he didn't hear. Lloyd goes back into shock.

"..So you really lied to us." Raine says, frowning up at him.

"Lied to you?" Kratos repeats as if he had not heard correctly. "I never lied this entire journey. You simply did not ask the right questions." Kratos pauses. "But I believe you wished to see the world Regenerated, did you not?" the way he said that was as if he thought he could be wrong, but his face was blank.

"Once her body is taken by the Goddess Martel, Colette will truly die." Raine replies.

"No." Kratos says. "She will be reborn as Martel."

"But that's still the death of one consciousness for another!" Piers yells out.

"...Damn you...! Damn you mother fucking son of a bitch!" Lloyd snarls, wiping blood from his lip, drawing his blades again. "You think I'm going to let you do that?" Lloyd screams, his Exsphere sparking. "Colette is our friend! Give her back!" Kratos bats Lloyd away with more strength than he had before, his blade flinging Lloyd back to the first floor.

"Air Thrust!" Genis casts. Since Kratos is currently land-based, Shikka shifts, running towards the man in lion-form. Kratos ignores the spell that cuts at his clothes, scrapes his armor, and draws thin lines of blood that seal over within seconds without flickering green lights.

"Howl that chills the very soul, resound!" Aurian's drawing the seal in the air again. Kratos turns to slam into Shikka, his shield first.

"Beast." Instead of the lion like Lloyd, a wolf's semblance appears. Shikka is knocked back, the lion dazed.

"Oh, blessed light, cast thy gaze upon these sinners." Daichi starts chanting. "Limited!" Apparently Light spells don't work on Angels. All it does is make Kratos take a half step back, before his wings shift and he's in the air. He repeats his Beast at Daichi, while Lloyd Tempests at him, managing to go through the shifting blue wings of the seraph and lose control of the Arte.

Piers growls. "Feel the Fury of the Sea! Mercury!" He summons the torrent, blasting at Kratos.

"Bloody Howling!" The cyclone of dark Mana engulfs Kratos, and he looks pained as he flies out of it, burns visible and not healing quickly, and unfortunately into Piers' attack. He tumbles backwards, wings splaying to stop him.

"Lunge." His shifting blue Mana swirls about him and then he's next to the elf, Beast-ing her into the lower wall. Piers casts Drench, throwing orbs of water at Kratos. Daichi zooms in from the sky.

"Rising Sun!" He yells, dive bombing for Kratos. Kratos waits until what looks like the last second for the two attacks, then lunges for Piers. Lloyd gets in his way, Beast-ing the Seraph off track.

"Drown!" Genis says, while Raine starts casting Nurse. Sheena darts in as well, preparing Life Seal while Lloyd starts Sword Rain-ing Kratos. Daichi yelps slightly, getting hit by Drench. Other than that, he shows no other reaction.

Piers growls. "Come to my aid, the beautiful maiden Nereid!" Piers summons once more, calling forth a young girl riding a turtle. She points her fans at Kratos, summoning a torrent of water. Kratos abruptly notices something, and his wings flick, sending him high above them. He Guardian's through the summons's attack, then hold his blade horizontal.

"Sacred Powers." his voice reverberates with Angelic Mana, his left hand curled between his blade and body. Piers casts Froth. Aurian's woken back up again, but she looks like she really didn't want to, clutching her head as swirls of visible Mana draw to Kratos, adding to the glow about him, feathers of the color of his wings rising in spirals about him. "Cast thy purifying light upon these corrupt souls." It was a chant, memorized. "Rest in peace, Sinners!" Kratos floated out of the way of Lloyd's Tempest, letting Lloyd take Piers' spell. Piers yelps suddenly, ducking from one of those swirls of Mana.

"Sorry!" He calls to Lloyd. Lloyd merely grunts, twisting to Tempest at Kratos again as the Seraph casts.

"Judgment." The light goes dark, clouds forming, beams of light falling and blasting into the ground, scattered. Aurian screams, falling back toward the stairs and the long walkway in, her flight halted by hitting another pillar of light. Shikka is hit with a blast of light, he roars, falling to the ground, shifting out of form. Piers manages to dodge one, but gets clipped by another. Daichi also gets slammed into by one. Lloyd gets slammed into the second level out of his Tempest. The first set of beams staggers them, the second round knocks them down, Aurian already still. Lloyd takes two steps, dropping his blades.

"Damn it...!" Lloyd's squinting an eye shut against blood, as he staggers past Kratos to grasp an unresponsive Colette. "Colette!" Piers starts to cast Wish Well, the tell-tale Psynergy aura forming.

"Lightning." Kratos flicks his left hand at Piers. Lloyd's shaking Colette's shoulders. Piers howls, knocked off onto the second level.

"Bastard!" He calls up before a secondary spark knocks him out. Soft noise had Lloyd noticing Kratos was next to him, his blade pointed for the boy's neck.

"... It is useless." Lloyd blinks as Kratos says this, inching away from Colette as the mercenary - angel's blade follows him.

"... Kratos." Lloyd says, opening the eye through blood. "Did you... really betray us...!" Lloyd asks. Piers is attempting to grab onto something to ground himself. He sparks, slowly getting to his knees at least. Aurian's foot is nearby, the elf sprawled half-down the stairs. Kratos simply looks at him, his wings fanning softly, his face blank but for the generally stern set to it. "... Answer me, Kratos...!" Kratos's response is to raise his arm, blade in the air. It takes far too long of the two males staring at each other before Kratos makes a soft noise, and his blade arm trembles. Piers yelps, falling back down on his face, sparking.

"As I suspected, I guess not even you could bring yourself to fight against such an opponent, my sword." Kratos's sword drops to his side, an instants expression of mixed relief and fear visible before Kratos turns to the falling light, and kneels on one knee, his head bowed.

"... Lord Yggdrasill." Kratos murmurs.

Daichi looks up slightly, half awake, half blinded by pain. "L-Lord Yggdrasill?"

"Who's that?" Genis groans, sitting and looking at the brightly glowing figure.

"Another Angel?" Sheena says, holding her head.

"... Are you... 'Lloyd'?" the newcomer says, a tall man in white with large, pale pink-purple wings that tremble with too much power, reaching well above his head of long golden hair to past his feet which hovered a foot or more from the ground.

"I-I Dunno...I-It looks like he is...But..." Daichi seems a little too pained to think clearly. "He's...Lord Yggdrasill..." He had a green gem set in the gold crest on his chest.

"Give me your name, and I'll give you mine!" Lloyd snaps, even though he was barely kneeling on his own power.

"Haha..." the laugh has barely any mirth in it. "People need not introduce themselves to a dog."

Lloyd bristles. "What did you say?"

"I think... Kratos... called him Yggdrasill too." Sheena says.

"You're so deserving of the Lord of the Obvious title." Piers comments, managing to sit up.

"Out of my contempt for the human race, I will answer you." The man says, raising his right hand, shards of his wings extending from his wrists, extending past his fingers like claws. A hazy silhouette of a blade appears in the middle of the room- between him and Lloyd and Kratos, who was still kneeling. "My name is Yggdrasill. It is I who am the leader of the Cruxis... and.." The man's cold green eyes glitter as he looks over Kratos, then the rest of the party below, before traveling back to Lloyd. "the leader of the Desians!"

"...You're...You're Cruxis?" Daichi stammers.

"That is what he said." Sheena mumbles.

"My lord." Kratos doesn't look up at the larger winged angel, his voice and face faintly tinged with... something. "You need not bother yourself, I can-"

"**Ssej, Aryteathear.**" Lord Yggdrasill says two words that ripple through the air with Angelic Mana, and Kratos's voice simply cuts off in mid word with the solid flash of crimson through his eyes.

Piers winces. "Ow...Why do those words hurt..." Aurian held her head in pain as she slowly got to her feet, the rest of the party doing the same, all bloodied, as Kratos shuts his mouth with a faint grimace, the words he finished not having sound, tilting his head aside. Yggdrasill attacks them, his large wings nearly blinding in the white aura that surrounds him.

"A-Aqua Edge!" Daichi yells in response. Piers jumps, latching onto Yggdrasill, using him as a Ground Rod. Yggdrasill sweeps an arm, and the spell hits a solid wall of Mana, as well as Piers. It's a very unfair battle, as Kratos has rendered them all near unconscious, and their attacks have almost no effect on the Lord Angel. Piers yelps, being thrown into the large half elf. They both fall off the top platform. Yggdrasill notices that no one seems to be well enough to actually attack him, and backs off. Lloyd grunts, Aurian shoving him down as the hazy form of the sword grows clear, a large violet double edged broadsword with a red gem in the guard, the elf going flying a few feet as whatever force that had blasted for Lloyd clipped her shoulder and sent the thin woman tumbling down the stairs. Yggdrasill frowned at the elf's sprawled body, before Kratos jolted, his eyes blinking wide as Lloyd struggles to stand once more, the blade flicking into solidity to slam the teen into a pillar, bones cracking as blood sprayed – it wasn't from cutting, rather the sheer force of hitting the wall. Lloyd slides down the pillar, falling to his knees as blood trailed from his mouth as Kratos stood, then falling face first to the floor.

"Lloyd!" Piers had come back to semi consciousness. Yggdrasill floated over to the critically wounded teen, almost looking he was going to nudge the body with a shoe, then remembered that the boy was bloodied, and his shoes were white. Lloyd is definitely out cold.

"You're no longer entertaining me." Yggdrasill says, hovering near Lloyd's body. "Therefore, you have no more purpose. **Svent, Vethi-Caex**." Piers slowly gets to his feet before stumbling, passing out again due to the Mana-heavy words. Yggdrasill hisses, indicating the party as they struggled to sit up, hearing the threat in the words. Kratos freezes once more, slowly turning to face the party, his eyes pained, before blank of pupil, dull red. "**Clax Aesthyr Vrak Vur Vaecaesin.**"

"Yes, my lord." His voice is empty, mechanical, his head not correctly upright on his neck as if he was a puppet as his blade shifted to level with the ground in his hand, his wings flaring brighter. Genis struggles to reach Lloyd, to wake him as the blue winged seraph lunges forward, flying for the larger number of slightly stirring combatants, but Fire Balls streak through the air, impacting on the puppet-like seraph and causing him to fly back, causing the Lord Angel to retreat away from the twin blade's body and throw up a shield. Piers slowly stirs.

"We're too late! The chosen has already transformed into an angel!" Armored men, Desians it seemed, ran in, a pair holding their hands out to continue throwing Fire Balls as the others pick up party members. Botta is with them, and he frowns at the party, then the floating angels.

Daichi also begins to wake. "Ow...Anyone get the number...?"

"We have no choice. We're taking her back with us alive!" the group splits up, two to a party member except for Genis and Colette, one guiding Colette and another carrying the small mage, as the Desian Mages distracted the Lord Angel and his Seraphim puppet.

* * *

I had fun with this. Lots and lots of fun.

An E-cookie to anyone who knows the **language**


	32. Through the Link

For those of you with sensative stomachs who skipped the death of Kvar, there is a very dry, bloodless version of the events down below.

The other version was in detail.

* * *

They're in some sort barracks room, one that had the bunks replaced with enough beds for the party members. They're all bandaged up, although still in their torn up clothes from the Tower. They're also short one, and Colette is simply floating near the wall. Daichi jolts awake, yelping, as though waking from a nightmare. Raine's sitting up, but not doing more than that.

"We're alive." she says, as if she's startled by this.

"W-We are?" Shikka asks dazedly, sitting up.

"I'm sore, bruised, and was bleeding." Raine says, shifting some of her bandages gingerly. "If I was in some sort of afterlife, don't you think we'd be untouched?"

"Maybe. But this world is fucked up anyway. What makes you think the afterlife is any different?" Daichi grumbles.

"I'd hit you, but that would take too much effort." Raine says, gingerly moving to get off her bed.

"Exactly." Daichi smirks.

"Don't think I'm not keeping track." Raine picks up her staff to help her get to Genis's bed. Sheena's groaning a bit, stirring slightly, but Lloyd's out still.

Piers eventually wakes, falling out of bed with a crack. "Ow. I think my leg got broken."

"..." Raine blinks at them all, looking about. "... We're missing Aurian." Genis gets a light treatment of glowing green sparks.

"We are?" Daichi asks.

"We are." Shikka confirms. Raine gets up to hobble about, looking at the place they're in.

"... The wall material looks familiar..." she mutters. She heads to the door. It doesn't look like they can open it from their side. The other door leads to a communal bathroom type thing, with the multiple showers.

Shikka stands, wincing. "I know what you mean..."

"... That place in the desert." Genis offers his opinion weakly. "Where we got Shikka and Lloyd free." Raine hurry-hobbles back to her brother. Piers groans, climbing back into bed, grabbing the water jug next to him and starting to drink.

"The pimp mansion?" Daichi asks.

"Yes, the blue place."

"Where I got my Exsphere from that... Botta's blade." Raine remembers.

"The GAY Pimp mansion." Daichi amends his statement.

"How's Lloyd doing?" Sheena asks, propping herself up. Genis tries to scramble over to see how the brunette's doing, and Raine ends up helping him. It actually looks like Lloyd's got some sort of IV things attached to him.

"..." Genis stares. Piers groans, managing to drink down the entire jug of water before attempting to walk over, failing and falling face down due to the cast on his leg. Raine attempts a diagnostic spell on Lloyd, but she's apparently still Mana-exhausted.

"... Better than if he'd just gotten smashed into that pillar... but not very good." Raine says as she helps Piers up.

"Ah.." Sheena says. Genis plunks himself right next to Lloyd and curls up there. Piers manages to crawl beside Genis.

"..." Raine watches them for a little bit, then goes back to her bed. They sort of lie about for a few hours, before the door dings, opens, and a cart of food moves in and the door shuts with a hiss.

"Well...That was spooky." Daichi says, standing and starting to hand food out. Colette is completely oblivious to the fact that any food is shown her. It's rather good quality healing-people food. Genis spends a moment or two trying to wake Lloyd with the scent of food. Piers seems to be attempting to summon his magic, but failing.

"Rest." Raine says firmly. "We don't know how long it's been since the Tower."

Piers flickers out. "..." After they finish, and replace the dishes, the cart moves back out the door. Raine watches it.

"Still spooky." Daichi comments.

Sometime later of lying about.

"...Where am I?" Lloyd mumbles. Genis grins, and stops himself from glomping Lloyd. Piers perks after falling asleep on the floor.

"Someone say something?" He mumbles. Genis hugs Lloyd.

"...?" Lloyd tries to hug him back, but the needle in his arm makes that feel really funny. "... Why's there a needle in my arm...?" Raine and Sheena are asleep.

"Because...It'll help you...Screw it!" Piers hugs the twin-blade, too.

Lloyd lies there for a bit, before he announces "... Ow."

"Ah! Sorry." Genis wriggles away.

Piers just lets go, hanging on the edge of Lloyd's bed. "S-Sorry..."

"Not... you guys.." Lloyd protests, grinning weakly. "Everything."

"So us hugging you." Genis points out.

Lloyd opens his mouth to deny that, but then comes up with a more pressing need. "Where's a bathroom."

"Over there. Need some help?" Piers offers. Lloyd attempts to get up. It fails.

"Yes." He doesn't sound pleased with it. Piers attempts to stand and also fails.

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaa iiiiiiiiiiiicccccccccchhhh hhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiii." He says annoyingly.

"Ugh. What?" The half-elf groans.

"Can you take Lloyd to the toilet?"

"..."

Lloyd turns a little pink. "Sorry." he mutters. "I'll go crawl over there." He falls off the bed with a thump and a groan of pain. Daichi sighs, standing and walking over.

"I didn't say no, did I? I was just wondering if he was serious." He helps Lloyd stand. Lloyd needs the help, his color vanishing as he's upright. His arm is tethered to the bed with the IV drip. Lloyd stares at it spacily. Daichi removes the delivery cable, helping Lloyd along. Lloyd looks like he's going to pass out sometime soon.

".. damn it.." Lloyd mutters.

"...Should I just get something for a bedpan?"

"I wanna use the damn toilet, not something in there..." Lloyd mutters, setting his jaw.

"Fine. On your own head, be it." Daichi leads him to the toilet. Lloyd manages to use it, and get his pants back up before falling over. Daichi sighs, picking the boy up and taking him back to bed. Lloyd mutters the entire way, but it's mostly annoyed muttering at how weak he is. Genis has fallen asleep on the edge of Lloyd's bed.

"... Aren't we missing someone?" Lloyd mutters. "Two.." he stops talking as he realizes who the second someone would have been and frowns.

"Yeah. Aurian and that bastard of a traitor, Kratos." Daichi couples Lloyd back up to the IV. Piers has passed out again. Lloyd mutters his agreement with Daichi's description of Kratos. There must have been something to help him sleep in that IV, or he's just really exhausted, cause he's out again. Daichi puts Piers back in bed, before picking Genis up. Genis has fistfuls of Lloyd's blanket, so the effect is like Daichi picked up half of him. Daichi groans. "Fine. Be stubborn." It's obvious he can't be bothered and leaves the small mage on the floor, returning to his own bed.

Lloyd watches the cart come in with a mildly creeped out look.

"It's moving on its own." Lloyd mutters. He's fiddling with the drip, which somehow hasn't run out yet. Daichi stands, dishing out the food again, leaving it beside the beds of those who are sleeping.

He bats at Lloyd's hand. "Don't fiddle with the IV."

"It makes my arm feel funny." Lloyd mutters, taking the food. He's starting to learn that he shouldn't move his left arm, cause it makes his bed - where the IV machine seems to be hidden - beep.

"Just don't touch it, kid!"

"Fiiine." Lloyd's looking better, if still rather pale. Once everyone's up and eating, the door hisses open again. This time people actually come in - Botta and his pair of Desian stalkers.

"Y-You...!" Piers states, sitting up.

"Good, you're all awake." the large half-elf says. "You've been here for nearly two days." he says before Raine can ask.

"Where's Aurian?" Lloyd demands.

"Your elf friend was entering the final stages before turning into an Exbelua." Botta says. "We have her in a Mana infusion chamber to stabilize her Mana while we craft a Key Crest."

"E-Exbelua? B-But doesn't that only happen if an Exsphere is removed when attached without a Key Crest?" Piers asks.

"Our Healer's spells indicated her body was failing. As there is no clear cause, we went with the one that seemed likely on an Exsphere Host." Botta says.

"But you're Desians!" Genis protests.

Botta gives Genis a look. "If we were Desians, do you really think you'd still have all your weapons, be treated, and still in your own clothes?"

"He has a fair point." Daichi points out. "Plus, we're all wanted criminals. The Desians would have killed us on the spot."

"And wouldn't have rescued us from Yggdrasill." Raine adds.

"I'm glad some of you are intelligent." Botta says, crossing his arms.

"Can we see Aurian?" Raine asks, ignoring Genis and Lloyd's indignant looks.

"No. We're still treating her. She's only just now gotten used to the amount of Mana signatures we've exposed her to, anymore will send her back into seizures." Raine nods with a wince. Daichi sits back down, looking over Botta and the others.

"You guys...Are you the Renegades?" He asks, hesitantly.

"Yes." Botta says. "You should continue to rest. You'll meet our Leader tomorrow. If you want more food, make sure all the dishes you put on the cart are cleaned. It will return quicker if there is no food left on it." the trio leaves.

"..." Daichi frowns. "Well. The Renegades, huh..."

"You know them, Daichi?" Raine asks, checking on everyone with her Mana.

"I know of them." He says. "I shoulda drew the conclusion when Lord Kvar related to Botta as 'that renegade.' Plus, they're uniforms...They seemed a bit weird."

"Haven't seen that color yet." Lloyd mutters. He seems to be starting to nod off again.

Genis frowns at Daichi. "You don't have to be respectful to them anymore."

Daichi blinks, picking up. "O-Oh. It's just habit." He chuckles nervously. "80 years of the same...y'know...?"

"... You're 80?" Sheena blinks. "... I was guessing more 30s."

"84." Daichi corrects. "I think I stopped ageing at about 35."

"Kinda like how Aurian looks like she's only about mid 20s, but Kvar said she's at least 120, cause that's when he caught her." Genis says.

"So, she's likely closer to 200." Raine muses.

"..." Sheena scratches at her head, but winces. "Now I feel weird for being 19."

"...You're 19?" Piers asks.

"Yeah." Sheena says. Lloyd snores softly, asleep again. Daichi flops back.

"Weird. I'm 18, and you seem older than me." Piers comments.

"Often, women mature faster than men." Shikka points out. "And I mean that in a purely innocent sense." He says, pre-empting any Zelos Winks moments.

Sheena frowns. "... You're talking about my chest, aren't you..." she mutters.

Raine shakes her head. "He meant mentally."

"I meant physically also, but in terms of facial maturity." The king states.

"So... how old are you then?" Sheena asks, indicating Shikka.

"I'm 51." Shikka responds calmly. Raine and Sheena blink.

"...Wow." Genis mumbles, curling up next to Raine this time. Shikka smiles lightly.

"About 25 of those years went into grooming me for the throne. And 10 of them as a slave." Shikka points out. Genis shudders, but goes to sleep anyway.

"I think he's got the right idea." Sheena announces. Daichi seems to be asleep already, snoring lightly. Shikka lies back and Piers just stares at the ceiling. Raine also stares at the ceiling, looking thoughtful and worried.

"I need a waterfall." Piers mumbles.

"There's a shower." Raine points out. "Perhaps closer to ten of them. but we're in a desert."

"It has to be natural to restore my...Magic." He sighs. "A stream or even a lake. Just...Any natural flowing water." He frowns.

"We're in a desert." Raine repeats. "And who knows when these Renegades will see fit to release us."

* * *

Lloyd's IV has vanished, and he looks quite a bit more clearheaded. He heads over to Colette, but she doesn't react at all.

"...She doesn't respond to anything we say." Sheena says from her bed.

"...Dammit!" Lloyd's not pleased.

"Lloyd, do you remember this place? We're in Triet Desert. Remember? This is the base where you were captured before." Lloyd blinks as Raine says this, then blinks again.

"...The Desian Base?"

"These guys aren't Desians." Sheena points out.

"What? What do you mean?" Lloyd scrubs at his head.

"So many things happened at once…I'm confused, too." Genis says.

"My head's stopped pounding in time with my pulse. Let's recap." Lloyd sits.

"Yes, why don't we go over everything we know about the situation as it stands now. First, our current situation. When we were about to be killed in the Tower of Salvation, we were rescued by the organization on this base that resembles the Desians. They call themselves the Renegades." Raine says, ticking these off.

"Uh, so what you're saying is that the people here are called Renegades and not Desians? Okay, I really don't get it, but go on." Lloyd tilts his head.

"It seems that the Renegades oppose the Desians. They probably have a reason for intentionally trying to look like Desians."

Daichi yawns. "They like to steal stuff from us."

"All right, I think I get it now. We were saved by an organization called the Renegades that looks a lot like the Desians. So then who was that angel guy...Yggdrasill, or whatever? And what about Kratos...?" Lloyd frowns.

"Do you remember Yggdrasill's words? This is just pure conjecture, but The Cruxis, holy beings worshipped by the Church of Martel, and the Desians may in fact be the same organization."

"...Whoa, wait...what?" Lloyd rubs his head. "How could that be possible?"

"Lloyd, hear me out. If we think of the Desians as a part of The Cruxis, or perhaps their pawns, everything makes sense." Raine says.

"I remember one of the Desian Five Grand Cardinals said that their boss was Yggdrasill." Genis says.

"And Yggdrasill said that he was the leader of The Cruxis and the Desians when he appeared before us." Raine continues.

"The leader of the Desians is Yggdrasill." Daichi confirms.

"If the Desians and The Cruxis are the same, well then what about Kratos?" Lloyd seems to still hope the guy wasn't completely evil. "He obeyed Yggdrasill's orders. That means..."

"...That's right, he's our enemy! He deceived us!" Sheena says. "He admitted it himself. He's one of the Cruxis' Four Seraphim!

"Kratos is likely a subordinate of Yggdrasill. He probably joined us to make sure Colette didn't stray from the journey to regenerate the world." Raine says.

"So, running around and destroying Desian ranches didn't stray from the journey?" Piers points out.

"Apparently... not." Raine says. Lloyd's trying to wrap his bruised mind about this.

"...So we were deceived from the very beginning. By Remiel, the Cruxis, even Kratos!" Lloyd seems to have added Kratos's name to a list of bad things to say by the way he says it.

"So 'Kratos' is the latest swear word, is it?" Daichi points out. Lloyd imitates an angry cat.

"Sure." Genis says. "Let's go with that." Piers pets Lloyd. Lloyd looks a little disturbed.

".. Good, you're all awake." A Renegade is at the door, and in the hall behind him, is another squad. "Then come with me to the next room. Our leader awaits you." Lloyd blinks, and they all get up. As the last person out, Lloyd's a little surprised when Colette suddenly shifts, and floats after him, keeping a two foot distance from everyone but him.

"Uh.." Lloyd takes a step to the left, and she follows him, same thing with right, and other directions. The Renegades pretend to not notice when Lloyd jumps to see if Colette would do that too.

"..." Everyone else stares at Lloyd.

"What are you doing?" Shikka asks.

Lloyd stops, looking a bit sheepish. "She's mimicking my movements. I was wondering how much."

The Renegade who talked to them coughs. "If we're all ready..." he leads the way, a trio joining him to seal off the front and more behind in case someone gets the idea to explore. They reach a room that looks familiar to Lloyd and Shikka, having gone this way before. It's the nicely decorated office, with the desk, painting with strange four-legged animals running, and the blue haired man in the cape.

"Nice office." Piers points out.

"Thank you. I decorated it, glad someone other than me likes it." the man says, watching them all with calculating teal eyes. "You've finally all been awake for more than two hours." he nods at Botta, who goes to the door, and some Renegades come in with folding chairs that still managed to fit the color scheme of the room.

"I take it no-one else shares your...tastes?" Shikka asks, managing to be careful about that statement. The man gives studies him for a moment, and remembers him by the tiny frown that appears for a moment.

"They don't see the point." he sits behind his desk, crossing his arms and watching them.

"So... you are... Renegades?" Lloyd sits in his folding chair, and Colette hovers behind him. Piers groans slightly, sitting down.

"Correct. We're an underground resistance dedicated to fighting the Desians... or rather, The Cruxis." Sheena's next to sit, then Genis, and Raine sits before she gets all shaky. Shikka blinks, then frowns as though wondering why he did so.

"So they really are the same." Lloyd says, looking like he's forcing his mind to accept that.

"Correct." Botta says. "The Cruxis controls the Church of Martel in the open, and operates the Desians from behind the scenes. The Desians are a subordinate organization within the Cruxis."

"So why do the Desians attack the world in which they're meant to regenerate?" Piers asks.

"To force the Chosen to wish to succeed. If the land is safe, there is no reason to help it. By creating an oppressive force that the populace wishes away, they create a motive for the Chosens." Botta says.

Daichi nods. "Makes sense. But why has it taken so long? It's been at least 80 years..."

"It's been 800 years since the fall of your flourishing civilization. Every chosen since then has failed." the blunette points out.

"Some have failed due to not being acceptable to the Cruxis. Some have managed suicide. Others, we had a hand in." Botta says.

"So...Why are you stopping this world from Regenerating?" Piers asks.

"We don't want Martel revived." the blue haired man's voice is bitter and tight. "The Church of Martel is nothing more than an instrument created by The Cruxis to rule the world. Those who call themselves angels are half-elves, who've evolved by using a special type of Exsphere called Cruxis Crystals. They aren't gods or anything of the sort. Of course, the Church of Martel and the Chosen know nothing about that."

"But if this world isn't Regenerated, surely it will wither and die eventually?" Shikka points out.

"Do you really think that two worlds struggling for the same small supply of Mana could happen naturally?" The blue haired man asks, raising an eyebrow. His tone suggests that if they did, he knew rocks smarter.

"Wait, wait..." Daichi frowns. "All angels are half-elven?"

"But isn't Kratos human?"

"It would be in your best interest to forget about, and avoid the one known as Kratos Aurion." the blue haired man says.

Lloyd frowns. "Why?"

"I think you'd remember." the man points out, and watches Lloyd and Sheena pale.

"...What does he mean?" Daichi asks, curiously. Now the man looks something along the lines of gleeful.

"You haven't told them." he doesn't make it a question, watching the way Lloyd avoids looking at anyone and Sheena looks at her hands. "That's rich."

"What?" Piers asks.

"That's right, you were out on the floor, and your elf friend was too..." Yuan's watching Lloyd for reactions, which he does get.

"H-how do you know that?" Lloyd's a nice mix of pale from still being weak, and ashen-green from memory.

"I've got my eyes and ears scattered about." The man says, smirking.

"... You're talking about Kvar." Raine draws the connection.

Piers blinks. "What happened?"

Lloyd's gone green. "Don't tell them." he whispers.

"I want to know." Raine says.

"For those of you who missed Kratos killing Kvar..." The man says, smiling a little. "Know that Kratos killed Kvar. In a rather disturbing, 'I have had too much time to hoard my revenge' sort of way." Lloyd buries his face in his hands. "He ripped Kvar's right arm off, and I do mean _ripped_, then attempted to choke him and threw him a good twenty feet." he ticks things off on his fingers.

"..." Piers has turned even greener.

"Tried to choke him again, got blasted, hamstrung him, crushed his other knee, and then healed himself and Kvar. Punched him for another short flight, threw his sword into him, lifted him into the air. Laughed for a bit after that, got blasted again. Healed himself and your other three. Cut off one leg, then the other." he stares at his hands, frowning at the lack of counting fingers left.

"..." Daichi frowns. "Kratos is evidently very thorough."

Raine's sort of staring at the bluenette as she was putting these actions to Kratos, who had been traveling with them. "Or just insane."

The bluenette shrugged, and left one hand with a thumb up, and started on the other. "Castrated him, then seared the wounds shut. Kicked him across the room via blow to the face, ripped off his left arm, cut the tips from his ears."

"Enough!" Piers yells.

The man smirks, and continues anyway. "Ripped him in half with his bare hands, and my personal favorite part, force fed him some of his own internal organs." He coughed, studying and memorizing the looks of horror. "Then went completely off the deep end, and punched his face until he was dead, and jawless. Didn't quite believe it, and stabbed his chest until it was mush." Piers looks to be holding some throw-up in. The man tilts his head like he was trying to remember something else, and watched as faces went paler. "Then..." he smirked as flinches struck. "He passed out."

"...Hm. Interesting." The only two people to not look horrified are Shikka and Daichi.

"..." Raine's giving Lloyd and Sheena looks that say she's going to have a talking to them for not telling her. Piers swallows, shuddering, closing his eyes. Raine frowns at them, then looks back at the man. "You've made your point on Kratos. What is Aurian's condition?" the blue haired man glances at Botta.

"The Elf." Botta provides clarification.

"She's sleeping. More or less on her own. She won't let us put a key crest on her."

"..Do you want someone she's familiar with to try?" Raine asks, watching.

"Tomorrow." the man says. "We'll treat you for the Angelic Mana Poisoning now that you aren't likely to try to attack."

"...What?" Piers asks.

"Only Angels can absorb Angelic Mana without getting ill. It's not meant for people without the altered Mana System. Think of it like food poisoning, only you aren't going to sick up as often." the man explains.

Piers pales even more. "...What?"

He's frowned at. "I just told you. Your ears aren't damaged."

"There are pills for you to take in your room. You'll likely shed a few feathers in the color of whichever Angel gave you the Mana." Botta says. Piers looks mildly mortified.

The blue haired man tilts his head, hearing something. "Show them back, Botta." he gets up and leaves through the door they hadn't taken in.

"Yes." The large brunette half-elf walks to the door they had taken in. "This way." Piers just follows. Their beds have been made and cleaned and the cart with food has been restocked. Piers just flops onto his bed, grabbing the bottle of pills.

Raine's reading hers. "'Take one every four to six hours, until you no longer give off feathers.' Grand." she pops one. Lloyd looks like he's thinking about not, but does so, while Genis and Sheena do as Raine had. Piers, Daichi and Shikka take one.

Lloyd shivers. "Felt tingly..." he mutters, flopping on the bed. "... I'm gunna sleep again."

"Same." Piers mutters, flopping back.

"I'll wake you in four to six hours then." Raine says, pulling out her notebook to catch up. Daichi yawns, staring at the ceiling.

"... Kratos is insane." Raine mutters. "And he'd been traveling with us, for months..."

"Yes. I wonder how we did not notice it before." Daichi mutters sarcastically.

"... Something about him set me on edge, I thought it was simply because he was from out of Iselia, a stranger, a man who killed for money..." Raine grimaces. "I was too trusting."

"As were we all." Shikka comments. Raine keeps the grimace on her face as she rubs her temples. She jumps, then pulls a feather out from under her shirt.

"..."

"Hm. I'm molting." Daichi comments. It's shifting blues. Raine frowns at it, recognizing the colors. She then gets up, and flushes the feather.

"A deserving fate." Shikka frowns. "A Lion should not molt feathers..." He grumbles. Lloyd's started itching in his sleep, cause feathers are poking at him. Sheena's muttering.

"This... is going to be a long night." Raine mutters, untucking her shirt.

"True." Shikka shakes, dog-like, scattering feathers.

* * *

January 18th

* * *

Everyone but Colette looks a bit sleep-deprived, and they have two clogged toilets, and a small mound of shifting-blue and pinky-purple feathers to show for it.

"Agh! I hate these fucking feathers!" Daichi yells, causing more molting. Raine mutters, but doesn't hit him. Lloyd's sullenly glaring at the mound of feathers, but he's apparently done molting. Piers sheds incessantly, groaning.

Sheena shoves Piers toward the bathroom. "Go waste their hot water." Piers flails but does so. Genis sighs happily as he stops itching and giving off feathers, flopping onto a bed with a sigh of relief. Lloyd's attempting to talk to Colette... which works as well as talking to a wall. Daichi eventually stops. Shikka doesn't seem too bothered, but has stopped. Sheena yells, very pleased at her lack of shedding when it finally stops, and Raine sighs happily like Genis.

"Now to try to get a bit of sleep." Lloyd mutters. Piers is still in the shower. The cart comes back in, with some more substantial food, and Lloyd abandons his plan for sleep in a plan for stuffing his face.

"Piers is taking a long time..." Shikka points out.

"Hot showers feel good." Sheena points out. "And, it helps the itching a little."

"... Lloyd, when was the last time you bathed?" Raine asks. Lloyd blinks around some bread.

"... before... the tower?" Lloyd says.

"...Still seems weird." Shikka muses.

"Piers is really-really a water mage." Genis points out.

"That's a fair point." Shikka then drops the subject. Lloyd remembers he's not the only one in the room and passes out food. Again, Colette completely ignores that anything exists.

"I think Lloyd should shower." Daichi points out. "We all should."

Sheena and Raine say "Already did." Genis blinks a few times.

"Fiiiinne." Lloyd mutters, shoving his face.

"About ten." Raine says. She's the one who's done the most exploring. Daichi stands, walking into the bathroom. Genis grabs onto Lloyd, and they follow, although Lloyd's muttering that he smells perfectly fine. Piers is seemingly asleep under the showerflow.

"... How is he asleep standing?" Lloyd asks, unknowingly saying the same thing that several people ask about him in class.

"I'm not asleep." Comes the reply.

"Ah." Lloyd says.

"I'm trying to fool myself that this is natural."

"Ooookay." Lloyd says, before getting showery things that are provided and getting in one. He's got a new set of scars, and some that are thin and just badly healed cuts... in the shape of Kratos's wings. Piers sighs, still molting.

"Uh, Lloyd?" Genis points those out to him. Lloyd twists to look.

"...asshole." Lloyd mutters, heading to wash. Daichi stands under the shower, his own body a multitude of scars. Lloyd's mostly look like falls, or monsters getting too close, and most of them are healed to a thin line. Genis only has a handful of healed ones. Lloyd rediscovers that showering is good because of lots and lots of hot water.

"You people look like rookies compared to me." Daichi mumbles, comparing scars.

"You're also a lot older than we are." Genis points out.

"Fair point." He replies, starting to wash. Lloyd seems thrilled with being in the shower, cause its warm and that helps him not feeling sore. Daichi smirks. "Aren't you glad I made you have a shower?"

Lloyd "mmhmmms" his agreement. Genis shakes his head. Daichi just chuckles, shaking his head.

"You people are intruding on my meditation time." Piers grumbles.

"Shaddup. Communal shower, kid."

Raine knocks heavily on the door sometime of hot-water bliss later. "They're back." she calls.

"Who is?" Piers replies.

"The Renegades. And they says that they're going to randomly run out of hot water in three minutes." Genis understands this seemingly random comment, and hurries out. Piers blinks, turning off the water. Everyone else does, but Lloyd.

"Eh?" Lloyd blinks, then yelps. "Holy Sylph! Cold! Cold!" he darts out to dry off and get dressed. Piers bursts out laughing. Now Lloyd looks miserable. The renegades in the main room apparently could hear that, and under their Desian-like helms, were wearing varying degrees of amused smirks. Daichi has temporarily changed into his Desian uniform due to his current clothes being ripped and bloodstained. Again, Colette floats behind Lloyd as they head to The Blue Haired Man with a Cape's nice little office.

Daichi poses the question immediately. "So. Who the hell are you?"

"I think we deserve to know who saved us. We need to know who to send the thank you basket to." Piers says.

"That's my line." the blue haired man puts down what looks like some sort of report. "I don't need any thank you baskets. You can send those to Botta."

"Awww. I was planning an awesome one." Piers seems sad.

His eyebrow twitches. "Where did we leave off?"

"The Cruxis controls the Desians and the Church of Martel, and they're all half-elves but for Kratos." Sheena says.

"More or less." The man shrugs. Piers is still mumbling about the basket. "Here." the man pulls a bag out and lobs it to Raine. It has a pair of earrings of Inhibitor Ore and inscribed correctly with the runes. "Her ears appear to have been pierced before, and the holes are still intact." Raine nods.

"... What is the Cruxis trying to do?" Lloyd asks, frowning. "Are they doing all this just to rule the world?"

"That is so Cliché." Daichi mumbles.

"..." the man gives Lloyd a Look. "Do you intend to have us explain everything? How about using your own head a little. They already do." the last sentence was said slowly as if to a stupid person. Lloyd pinks. Piers smirks at Lloyd.

Daichi grunts. "You still didn't tell us who you were."

"He's probably afraid of the welcome baskets." Shikka points out. The annoyed look is given to the group as a whole now.

"They wish to revive the Goddess Martel." Raine says, and attention flicks to her. "They send oracles to those of the Mana lineage and control their marriages to create Chosens who become the vessel. It seems meaninglessly drawn out and complicated." The man and Botta send approving glances at Raine.

"Well, well." Botta says, smiling a little. "I am impressed." Raine seems to have gotten them back on their good side.

The blue haired man nods. "There is another world beyond Sylvarant that competes for Mana."

"Tethe'Alla." Lloyd says it like it's the test question he studied for.

"Yes. And the one who created this twisted world was the Cruxis' leader, Yggdrasill."

"He split the worlds, did he?" Piers asks. "And misbalanced the magic and alchemy everywhere else..." He mutters. The man glances at Piers with a hint of question to his expression.

"Create a world? That's ridiculous! No one can do that!" Genis says, frowning. Lloyd's simply in shock that they survived facing a guy who could do that.

"..." Daichi seems to be thinking.

"There's no way that guy could have created a world." Sheena protests. "I mean, yeah, he had some freaky powers." Lloyd winces as he remembers his abrupt meeting with a pillar.

"Why didn't he slaughter us?" Daichi comments.

"The worlds have been like this for ages, all throughout history." Raine says.

"You're lying." Genis says, ignoring the fact that the blue haired man was rubbing his temples in annoyed anger. "He'd be ancient!"

"And why won't you tell us who you are?" Piers says suddenly. "I promise I won't send a thank you basket."

"Would you all just shut up and listen for once in your life!" the man slams his hand down on the desk, and little arcs of lightning flick off him. A sense of electrical tension fills the room. Raine looks at the walls, and her eyes widen as she realizes they're metal. "If you want to believe that, our conversation is over. If I wanted people to mock everything I said, I would be parading about with a lute." Piers flinches from the lightning.

Genis opens his mouth. "Genis. The room's made of metal. We're already aware that Botta is an earth mage. He's a lightning mage." Raine says, and Genis's eyes widen as he puts together what could happen.

"For your own life, don't piss him off anymore." Piers mutters.

"Sir..." Botta says firmly, and the blue haired man glances at him, then visibly calms himself, the lightning cracking and withdrawing, then completely vanishing.

"..." Lloyd watches him, then starts hesitantly. "If Yggdrasill was the one that created the two worlds himself, what can you possibly hope to do against someone like that?" The man looks at him appraisingly. After not getting fried, Lloyd continues. "And that's not all. You tried to kill Colette and me. You're certainly not on our side. Yet for some reason, you saved us. Why?"

"... You're not as stupid as you seem." the bluenette says, crossing his arms.

".. Excuse me?" Lloyd tries not to shout it. Piers smirks.

"...Our goal is to stop Martel's revival. Therefore, the Chosen, who would become her vessel, was an obstacle." Botta says.

"So, basically, you wanted to kill us before...But not now?" Piers states.

"Unfortunately, the Chosen completed the angel transformation. The Chosen is now a lethal weapon whose only goal is self-preservation. We wouldn't dare lay a hand on her. But now we have the key to stop Martel's resurrection. We no longer need the Chosen!" the blue haired man doesn't deny or agree that he doesn't need Colette dead... just that it'd be too much of a bother to try right now.

"..." Daichi frowns. "Well..." the doors hiss open, and Renegades surround them.

"... What?" Lloyd's trying to get his head around these double sided actions.

"What we need is you, Lloyd Irving!" the blue haired man and Botta are outside the ring.

Daichi gets to his feet. "Wait, why do you need Lloyd?"

"Me? What's so special about me?" Lloyd yelps, getting to his feet.

"That's none of your concern!" the bluenette says. "Get him!" As the renegades move in, with the blue haired man intent to grab Lloyd, Lloyd reacts quickly. He slams his foot into the man's groin.

"Froth Sphere!" Piers reacts, sending out a whirlwind of bubbles.

The man crumples, holding his gut. "Ugh!"

"Lord Yuan!" A pair of soldiers move to cover him with Botta.

"No! It's his wound from Hima!" Botta spots the bloodstain.

"Urg... Kratos, how many times must you get in my way?" Yuan is trying to get to his feet again.

"Wound from Hima? Are you telling me the one who attacked Kratos was...?" Lloyd wonders.

"Less talky, more runny!" Daichi yells, spotting the opportunity.

"Right." Sheena throws out a card, and a big smoke cloud appears. Colette flies on Lloyd's heels as the Sage siblings dart out after the ninja. Daichi is the last out, being the party's 'tank' unit.

"Corrine!" Sheena summons a little three tailed fox critter. "Lead us to Aurian!" the fox nods, and darts off, bell chiming. "Follow Corrine!" They follow the little critter to another room, startling and jumping any Renegades.

"She's here." Corrine vanishes, being a summon. Daichi breaks down the door.

"Uh, Daichi?" Piers holds up a card.

"What's that?"

"The key."

"How'd you get that?"

"Stole it from Yuan." He shrugs.

"...Yuan." Sheena and Genis say. "Seriously."

"I'll be just a moment. Shikka, if you mind?" Raine darts in to remove Aurian from whatever medical equipment the Renegades have attached to her.

Shikka nods. "Not at all." He goes in to help, most likely to carry the elf, since he's got no Mana. Which was exactly Raine's plan. Aurian's mostly asleep, meaning she's blinking and just limp.

"They left her pack here. Good." Raine puts bandages on where the IVs were and helps Shikka pick her up. "Let's get going." Especially since the machine is panicking now that it's getting nothing from the elf.

"Right." Shikka nods, carrying the elf carefully, but quickly. She looks confused, but too sleepy to put up a fuss. Lloyd's looking jumpy.

"I know a place to hide." Lloyd says. "We can listen to them pass and then search about more."

"They've probably already locked the base down - Especially after Lloyd kicked their leader in the balls." Sheena points out.

"That was an awesome move." Piers comments.

"Thanks." Lloyd says. He shoots a worried look at Aurian, who was asleep again, then a slightly pained one at Colette, before darting down a hallway. They end up in a storage room.

"Dammit! What's so special about me?" Lloyd demands once they're in and have the door shut and don't hear panicking Renegades.

Daichi shrugs. "I dunno. It's not like you know anything of worth."

Lloyd makes a face at him but continues. "Those Renegades need to hurry up and make up their freaking minds about whether they're our enemies or not!"

"What are we going to do now?" Genis asks, sitting on a crate. Their beating at the tower has taken a chunk out of their stamina.

"... We've got to save Colette somehow." Lloyd says. "She's going to die if she's made into Martel's Vessel." Colette hovers there, staring blankly ahead with solid red eyes. Aurian makes a sleepy protest noise, and tries to shift.

"... But what can we do?" Genis says quietly. Shikka blinks at the elf.

"I dunno." Piers sighs. "All I know is that last Froth attack sapped the remainder of my strength."

"Cold." she mutters.

"... Sheena, where did you get your Exsphere?" Raine topic changes.

"Huh? Well that came out of nowhere." Sheena notices. "I got this before I came here. They attached it to me at the Imperial Research Academy."

"Is it normal for people to equip Exspheres in Tethe'Alla?" Raine asks.

Daichi looks up. "If you guys have no Desians, how do you make them in the first place?"

"The Renegades brought them over." Sheena says. "Nowadays, Exspheres are mainly attached to machines, not people."

"... Wait a second." Lloyd frowns. "So Tethe'Alla and the Renegades are on the same side?"

"Seems that way. The Renegades steal Exspheres we produced in their raids." Daichi comments.

"I'm not sure if you could say that." Sheena shrugs. "The Renegades were the ones that brought us information about the nature of the two worlds. And the plan to assassinate the Chosen was their idea. They talked the King and the Pope into it. 'If you desire for Tethe'Alla to prosper, kill the Chosen of Sylvarant'."

"And you got chosen for the job?" Piers asks.

".. Yeah." Sheena shrugs.

"That's horrible...!" Genis mutters.

".. Lloyd, I suggest we go to Tethe'Alla." Raine says.

"Why Tethe'Alla?" Genis asks.

"Don't you remember what Yuan said? Angels are half-elves that evolved using special Exspheres called Cruxis Crystals." Raine says.

"Oh, I get it!" Lloyd sits up. "Colette's current condition is caused by the Cruxis Crystal!"

"Therefore we go to the place that knows more about Exspheres?" Daichi asks.

"Exactly." Raine says.

"That's a good idea. I'm pretty sure they're studying the Cruxis Crystal that belongs to Tethe'Alla's Chosen at the Imperial Research Academy." Sheena says.

"Well, that's coincidental." Piers points out.

"There's a Chosen in Tethe'Alla, too?" Genis frowns.

"Of course." Sheena sounds a little surprised. "The World Regeneration ritual is carried out in Tethe'Alla as well. The Church of Martel exists too."

"... But if they've been carrying out the regeneration that many times, why hasn't Martel's vessel been completed already?" Lloyd frowns.

"Maybe its gender? Tethe'Alla's Chosen may be male." Daichi points out. "Would you like a female goddess in a male body?" Sheena chokes, while everyone else attempts to mental-image this. This causes with their various mental images of the Goddess, and various forms of males to then become said Goddess various expressions of disturbance. Daichi smirks. "Exactly."

"I'm curious about that myself, though. Perhaps those corpses lined up in the Tower of Salvation were..." Raine stops her train of thought.

"Companions." Aurian offers. Everyone glances at her, more or less not aware she was awake enough to pay attention. "Not similar Mana to Colette." Aurian mutters, rubbing her face.

"So, not only did the Chosens die, but also their companions?" Piers blinks.

Raine pales. "Remiel was not out of bounds in attacking us?"

"Not enough chosen, yes?" Aurian asks. "Too many bodies... How many chosen companion come back?"

"... None." Raine whispers.

Daichi frowns. "Makes sense in a psycho kinda way." Lloyd has a thought he doesn't particularly like, but Aurian voices it.

"Kratos tried leaving with Colette. Without us." Aurian mutters, then curls up to go back to sleep.

"..." Lloyd's scowling.

"So, does that mean... We'd be killed if Kratos left with Colette?" Shikka asks.

"Or we wouldn't have been slain in the Tower of Salvation, because Colette and Kratos completed it without us there?" Raine asks.

"So.. Kratos wanted to save us?" Daichi wonders aloud.

Lloyd's face says that he seriously doubted that. "... There's too many things we don't know right now. The Cruxis's objective, The Renegades, the method to save Colette... Whether Kratos is an irredeemable ass or not..."

Daichi smirks. "Nice choice of words. Kratos definitely seems to be mixed up."

"I think he liked Lloyd." Genis says.

Lloyd looks annoyed with this. "..."

"There was a gentleness in the words he spoke to you." Raine points out.

"Kratos, gentle?" Lloyd nearly chokes at that mental image. "You've got to be kidding."

"Lloyd is right. I have a hard time imagining 'Kratos' and 'Gentle' in the same setting." Shikka points out.

"... True." Sheena shudders. "It's hard to believe that the things he said to us after we saw the Exsphere manufacturing at the Asgard ranch were spoken by a cold-hearted angel of the Cruxis."

"Then why'd he take Colette?" Lloyd demands.

".. We already covered the possibility that he didn't want us to die." Genis points out.

"...All we know that his goals and ours are not the same." Lloyd grumbles.

"So, we go to Tethe'Alla." Sheena says.

"That's the only way we have right now. And this time, I'm going to fulfill my role." Lloyd says. "I'm not going to let Colette bear the burden all by herself anymore."

"... Wait a minute. That's great and all... but how are we going to get to Tethe'Alla?" Genis asks. "It's not like we can all click our heels three times and wish to get there."

"We would if we had a pair of ruby red slippers." Piers points out.

"I'm sure Sheena knows a better method of travel, correct?" Raine says.

"My understanding is that you travel to Tethe'Alla by passing through a distortion in space." Sheena says. "As far as I know, crafts called Rheairds are the only things that can do that."

"Where are they?" Lloyd asks.

"The Renegades have them." Convenient, isn't it. "they should be somewhere in this base." Sheena says.

"Okay then!" Lloyd gets off the box. "Let's get going!" Sheena summons Corrine to lead the way. They reach a large room with many techy looking things. Raine darts over to a console and the floor opens and flying machines come out of the floor.

"Ooh!" Piers runs over to a blue one.

"So these are Rheairds." Lloyd's eyeing one with red on the wings. Aurian's asleep, and Colette doesn't register anything.

"Hurry! They'll catch up to us!" Sheena's getting on a purple one. Daichi gets an unpainted one, Shikka and Aurian get in a orange. Piers hops in a blue. Colette follows Lloyd as the Sages get one each, and same with Sheena.

"All right, then!" Lloyd looks at the buttons between the handles. "Tethe'Alla, here we come!" he pushes the big one, and yelps, holding on for dear life as the machine hums to life, and speeds forward. It's some sort of trippy blue-black tunnel thing with a lot of stars and weird lights, but as long as they don't stop, nothing happens. All the sudden, they're in the sky again, heading over a mountain range before a lone mountain. Suddenly, all their Rheairds ding.

"Whoa!" Lloyd looks. "Wh... what's happening?" they're going down without them telling the Rheairds to do so.

"I don't know, it just suddenly..." Genis cuts off in a yelp as his Rheaird dips again.

"Look! The fuel gauge is empty!" Raine points this out.

"So that's it!" Sheena's fighting with her machine to keep it up. and failing. "Since you've unleashed the seals in Sylvarant, there's not enough Mana in this world!"

"And that means?"

"We're gunna fall!"

"Ahhhh!" Enter group scream as the mountain looms.

They hit the summit, fortunately. And fortunately, they're all in better shape than their Rheairds, which are... falling apart. Aurian's somehow still asleep, but it looks to be a more fevered sort now.

"... I think we managed to avoid destroying them completely." Lloyd groans, staring at the sky from under a Rheairds's wing.

"Ow." Piers mumbles. "That was not pleasant." Genis agrees, wandering over and just flopping in the middle of the summit. Raine walks to each to make a damage check. Daichi is rubbing his back, but it appears to just be superficial. Shikka is fine, still hugging Aurian. Piers is just sleepy. Sheena, Lloyd, Genis, and Colette are just bruised, but Aurian seems to have gone feverish.

"Let's make camp here." Raine says.

"Miss Sage." Shikka says, having a habit of being polite when addressing people. "Aurian..." He points to the elf.

"I know." Raine sighs. she pulls out the piercings, leans over and fixes them in place. It doesn't bother the elf, nor does it look like it does anything to help just then.

Daichi breathes in. "Is it just me, or is the air sweeter here?"

Genis tries. "It's a bit... but it's a little thinner than the Tower's air too."

"That's because the Mana's going to Sylvarant." Sheena says, before double taking. "Wait, you can tell how much Mana is in the air?"

"Yeah."

"Of course."

"So, Tethe'Alla is going to be in decline?" Piers asks.

".. I don't know." Sheena says.

"... I don't think it is." Lloyd says slowly, he's staring off toward the north east. "Cause that looks a lot like the Tower of Salvation." Lloyd points at an impossibly tall, ivory tower.

"That's because it is the Tower of Salvation." Sheena says.

"... Two worlds. Two Towers." Raine's muttering while she's getting water to try to help Aurian out of the fever. "What about the Holy Ground? The Church is also here, correct? Is the Holy Ground called Kharlan?"

"Yes." Sheena looks surprised. "The place where the Tower of Salvation lies is the Holy Ground of Kharlan. The same as your world."

"The Holy Ground of Kharlan is where the peace treaty was signed to end the Ancient War! There can't be two of them!" Genis protests.

"Are you sure yours isn't a fake? We have records in our museums depict how the Hero Mithos called the two ancient kings to the Holy Ground of Kharlan in order to forge a peace treaty." Sheena says.

"And such records exist on our side as well. Instruments used to sign the treaty can be found in the Palmacosta Academy." Raine says.

"So one's fake... Or they're both real." Lloyd says.

"That's impossible, Lloyd." Daichi comments.

"All right, all right." Lloyd waves his hands to stave off Genis's intellectual wrath. "I was just... kinda... saying stuff. Don't rip my head off. Let's just drop it, yeah?" Piers seems thoughtful. "... I'm hungry." Lloyd grumbles, before getting up to the fire and the cooking stuff.

"... good. Aurian's getting cooler..." Raine sits back.

Shikka nods. "That's to be thankful for at least."

"Yes." Raine sighs.

"Cold." the elf mutters.

".. awake is good too." Raine says.

"Yeah..." Shikka comments, hugging the elf. She blinks a few times, before squeaking. Lloyd's killing some potatoes for stew. Piers watches Lloyd, sighing. Lloyd continues making stew, while Raine checks on Aurian with Mana.

"... I guess they knew what they were doing. You're healthier now than any time before." Raine tells her. Aurian's content to blink and steal Shikka's warmth. Shikka is content to let her. Lloyd announces that stew is done, filling bowls. He almost fills two extra, before scowling and dumping the ladle back into the pot. Piers eats silently, probably as depressed as Lloyd. Lloyd's a grumpy sort of 'depressed', although all grumpyness fades every time he looks at Colette.

* * *

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay


	33. The Tethe'Allan Capital

Aurian's curled up into a ball, sleeping rather soundly. Lloyd's quietly poking about the Rheairds, while Genis starts cooking prep. Raine's checking through their packs. Daichi is sitting emotionless, though not angellic. He looks a bit beat up, but refuses to be healed. Piers is purifying water and Shikka is off to one side, cleaning himself. Colette is floating, in the same place as before, with the same blank expression as before, and with the faint fuchsia glow about her as her wings fan slowly as she stares straight ahead with pupil-less red eyes.

"Aurian's old glaive isn't in any of these." Raine says, stopping her inspection of their supplies. "We have enough food to last for half a week, especially without needing to feed two..."

Piers pulls a purple pouch. "Speaking of traitorous cur." He smiles. "I stole his gald pouch~" Lloyd mutters something, then yelps as the Rheaird shifts and makes noises. Raine shakes her head, but makes no move to hit him.

"Meltokio is less than a half-weeks travel, we'll be able to make it, and the amount of Gald you gathered on your trip should be enough..." Sheena says slowly, as she thinks.

"If we run low, I'm sure we can hunt and gather more food." Shikka states, tail flicking.

"yeah... that shouldn't be any problem." Sheena mumbles, thinking. Lloyd yelps again as the wing of the Rheaird he was under falls on him.

"Lloyd, you're going to hurt yourself. Stop." Raine tells him. Lloyd mutters and wriggles free and back to camp.

Daichi stands and stretches. "Should we go? I don't think there's anything left here."

"Breakfast." Genis holds up a scoop of oatmeal, then empties it into a bowl. This draws Lloyd back into camp, but he gives the first one to very sleepy Aurian. Genis attempts to temp Colette with a bowl, but the Chosen doesn't even respond. Daichi only eats half. He takes out the black pillbox, making to toss them away. Raine watches him absently, but is a bit more preoccupied with keeping Aurian from face planting into her bowl because of how asleep she was.

"Isn't that the stuff you take when you have nasty headaches that made you all..." Genis fails at picking a term, but he does glance at Colette. "... but not?"

"I have a feeling I won't be needing them..." He replies.

"I'd keep them." Raine says. "In case something re-surfaces, or so that Piers can study them the way he did..." she grimaces and turns her back on the conversation, starting to completely wake Aurian up. Daichi relaxes his arm, literally about to toss them away. He hands them to Piers instead, who was making tea. Raine gets Aurian to sit up, although she sat blinking in the dazed way that said her mind hadn't caught up yet. her ears twitched, and a tiny chiming noise came from the earrings. she blinked, and then set to amusing herself with the noises. Lloyd watches her somewhat startled like. Piers hands out tea in porcelain mugs.

Lloyd takes his gingerly. "Where'd you get this? This stuff's fragile." He sips the tea anyway.

"I've had it all along."

"... but it breaks easily..." Lloyd protests a bit, but he finishes the tea. Sheena seems to be going at her tea much slower, and Aurian's has vanished in the way all her food seems to vanish - quickly.

"I take care of my stuff." Piers states. Lloyd mutters that this isn't what he's really talking about, but doesn't pursue the subject. he carefully cleans his cup and passes it back, before picking his pack out of the small pile of them. Piers packs the porcelain set away safely, picking his own stuff out. Raine's gotten Aurian on her feet, although that might have something to do with the caffeine pill she took from Lloyd's bottle and had Aurian take. the elf still looks rather sleepy, though.

"This is the path down the mountain." Sheena's off behind one rock. "The Rheairds'll have to stay here, but Meltokio's the closest place to here, so there's little worry about them going somewhere."

"... All right!" Lloyd puts on enthusiasm, grabbing his and Colette's packs and heading down the hill. It's a windy cliff face path. Colette shadows him, with Genis following her, paying attention to where Lloyd stepped because Colette was flying half a foot from the ground. Sheena is more towards the middle. Daichi seems to take point. He seems a bit more energetic. Lloyd pauses with the mountain path tapering out more flat.

"... where are we going?" he asks, scratching the side of his nose.

"...We have a guide." Daichi points at Sheena. Sheena frowns at Lloyd, looks like she's about to say something before his Sylvaranti-ness clicks in her head.

"Right. You're Sylvaranti." she looks at the sky. "Meltokio is to the north, but we have to go west to go about the mountain first."

Piers walks past her. "Just a note, I'm Lemurian, not Sylvaranti."

"I was talking to Lloyd." Sheena shrugs. "And what the hell is Lemurian anyway?" She frowns at him.

Piers looks back. "Someone from Lemuria."

"Wherever that is." Sheena mutters, then takes point. "This way." Aurian almost looks to be sleep walking, but for the fact that her eyes are open... a bit. Colette keeps floating behind Lloyd.

They enter a small forest, and all the sudden Colette floats up and throws a Chakram, then the other. Sheena yelps as a bisected caterpillar, one of the ones that curled in a ball and stood higher than Lloyd, fell from the tree. "What the hell are monsters doing here?"

Daichi draws his axe, looking around. "Is Tethe'Alla as infested by Monsters as Sylvarant?"

"No!" Sheena sounds like she's indignant at the world. "We didn't have monsters when I left!"

"Maybe it's the inverse of mana that's causing this..." Piers muses.

".. Likely." Raine's holding her staff. "Sylvarant is plagued by monsters due to being in Decline, so now that we released the seals..."

".. Tethe'Alla is getting monsters back." Sheena mutters, looking annoyed. "If there really is a goddess, why the hell did she let them do this?"

Daichi chops another caterpillar in half. "Maybe she doesn't have a choice?" He shakes his axe free. "Or doesn't exist. Either works." Sheena mumbles about the Mizuhoan God being much more sensible, but doesn't go into much more in the common language, slipping back into her native. Aurian's ears are twitching, and thus making little metal noises, as she works to keep the new glaive in her hands.

"Anyway... now we gotta keep an eye out like we're still in Sylvarant..." Sheena sighs.

"Nothing wrong with that!" Daichi says.

"I was looking forward to not having to fight all the time." Sheena mumbles. "It makes travel faster."

"But if we don't fight, we'll get rusty." Daichi comments. Sheena makes an annoyed, but 'you're right' sort of noise.

"Sparring only does a certain amount of good, and almost none for mages." Raine points out. "then we're gonna stick to plain after the forest ends." Sheena mutters, holding her slips of paper ready. Daichi starts casting, cleaving some huge-ass bee in two with Aqua Edge. A bee that attempted to sneak behind him falls to pieces without anymore sound than a slight squish. Aurian stared at it blankly, then continued sleepily on.

"She's a wind-mage, all right." Genis mumbles, stilling his kendama. Piers has pulled out some sort of circular axe.

Lloyd blinks at it. "Eh?" He's trying to walk and check his blades for problems at the same time.

"What? My staff got broken by Spandexman."

"I thought you had a sword... And it did something called... Dream tide?" Lloyd has found a handfull of chips and is grimacing at them.

"I wanna use the Disk Axe. It's more powerful than the Pirate Blade."

"... oookaaayy..." Lloyd mumbles. He blinks, then looks at Sheena. "Hey, Sheena. What do the Rheairds need to run? Coal?" Sheena gives him an incredulous look.

"Besides, Power Drive is an awesome attack~"

"Hnnn." Lloyd's a bit more interested in Sheena's response.

"No. How do you people live?" the second was more to herself.

"Mana, then." Raine says. "Perhaps the lightning of Volt?"

"So, we need Sheena to summon Volt?" Genis guesses.

"Ah... I don't have a pact with Volt." Sheena's a bit paler than usual.

"Oh." Lloyd blinks.

"So, we need to get Volt?" Daichi asks.

"Or, we could use the blue-haired guy as a battery." Piers points out.

"I imagine hooking him up to all the Rheairds at once would be problematic." Raine says dryly. Lloyd grins.

"True... But not impossible!" Piers states enthusiastically.

"Except for the fact he's in Sylvarant." Aurian speaks up.

"... Do you even know what we're talking about?" Lloyd blinks at her.

"The lightning mage." Aurian shrugs. "Half-elf, blue haired, shift-blue-green eyes. Swears."

"... didn't catch that last bit when we met him..." Genis tilts his head.

"Probably because he was stalking us and knew of Raine's punishment." Daichi states.

".. .That... would make sense." There was a dawning look to their faces. "Colette's pervert... the guy who snuck into Lloyd's room... the one who Kratos yelled at..." then was the mildly creeped out look.

Daichi smirks. "Yup. A professional pimp. Explains the blue mansion." Aurian gives him a blank look.

Before she can ask, Raine simply shakes her head. "You don't want to know."

"..." she blinked and accepted this. Piers sighs, drowning some form of wolf. A large... purple bear falls to peices shortly after Aurian focuses on it, but the cost seems to be she's getting sleepier.

"Enough." Raine more or less pokes her in the ribs. the elf mumbles sleepily.

* * *

January 21st

* * *

It's a walled city. From the veiw getting closer, before the walls themselves, it was a tiered, walled, city. The gate was open, two green armored guards before it in full plate with halberds. Lloyd and Genis were trying not to gape like the country bumpkins they were. Piers seems to have straightened himself up, looking a little different from normal. Aurian still looks half asleep, despite this being their third day in Tethe'Alla.

"Ahh..." Sheena stops, rubbing the back of her head. "I'm actually parting ways with you guys here."

Daichi blinks. "So, what do we do?"

"Go straight north." Sheena points up a wide staircase. "Actually, first, go to the inn. The sign's are the same, it's just to the right. Tomorrow, go as far up those stairs as you can. The Palace is there. Give this..." she pulled out an envelope. "To the king. Tell them you're from Sheena, they should let you in."

"'Should' being the operative word." Piers states dryly.

"Given that the King ordered me to assassinate Colette, the guards should let you in as my messengers. you can let them know otherwise, once your inside." Sheena shrugs.

"... Why aren't you coming with us?" Genis blinks.

"I failed to kill Colette. I have to report to my Chief."

Daichi rubs the back of his neck. "Well, lets explore Meltokio." He says. "Might as well, whilst we're here." Sheena hands the letter to Raine, then vanishes in a smoke cloud. Lloyd scrubs the side of his nose.

"... Let's get rooms first..." He mutters, blinking at the city. "then we can... go shopping... and sightseeing?"

"Its bigger than any city I've seen..." Daichi mumbles.

Raine's just looking about, remarkably collected. "there's the inn. Lloyd has more or less the right idea. Mending needs to be done, and a more thorough inventory of our supplies..."

Piers nods. "That seems sensible."

And so they headed to the inn, ignored strange glances, and crowded into one of the two rooms they got - the men's, as they had more space. Piers starts sorting through their items. Daichi is mending his clothes, particularly his socks and Shikka is helping mend weapons. Lloyd's half paying attention to his coat, and half to his blades, Aurian's already curled up in a ball and attempting to sleep again, and Genis is helping Raine with inventory of Healing items, Quartz's, the various Bottles and food. There seems to be some extra armor in thier packs, including gloves with fingers long enough for Aurian, a light-mail robe for Raine, and some armor-care for Desians. Daichi snatches it up.

"Been looking for that." He comments.

"We have everything we went to the Tower with." Raine says. "More or less. there are a couple of broken Holy Bottles, but other than that, we've all our Gald, Gels, Quartz, Magic Lens, our Collector and Monster Books, and other Bottles." Piers starts sorting them into packs on items. The Gels, Bottles and other such-like items into one. Piers seems so organized. The teen seeming a bit different than before in Sylvarant. There's a clatter as Lloyd's blades fall to the floor, the twin-blade pitched over on his side and visibly feverish. Raine mutters something that Genis stares wide eyed at as she steps over Aurian and the packs and rests a hand on Lloyd's face. Lloyd's muttering that he's ok.

"No, you're not..." Piers states, kneeling by Lloyd also.

"m'fine." Lloyd mumbles.

"Piers, do you want to use your magic? Or should I just get a bucket of water?" Raine asks, pushing Lloyd fully onto the bed and stealing his needle and coat from his hands.

Piers nods. "I'll start casting. It's fine. I feel much stronger here." He starts glowing, his hands starting to mist. Ice cold water rains from his palms onto Lloyd's face. Lloyd mutters his disapproval and insists that he's fine. but seeing as his attempts to shove Piers' hands away are a half a foot off, he really isn't. Raine's scowling at him as she runs a check with her Mana.

"It's just like Hima and that time in Iselia." she announces. "Shikka, would you mind locking the window?"

"Of course." Shikka stands and locks the window. "Want me to lie on him, too?" The lion offers.

"He's too warm. if you wouldn't mind sitting next to him in case he starts trying to leave, that would be preferred." Raine's frowning at Lloyd, almost like she's debating whacking him across the head to keep him there, but decides that wouldn't help anything.

"Lloyd, if you don't stay still, the water's gonna get colder and colder." Lloyd mumbles that you can't get colder than ice. Genis opens his mouth to argue that, then changes his mind.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Genis asks. "Lloyd's sick, Shikka can keep him still, Piers is helping him, Aurian's asleep again, Colette's..." he grimaces. "Does that mean it's Daichi, sis and I who are going shopping?"

"You say it as though it's a bad thing." Daichi states, finishing a sock and tossing it on the pile.

"It means that I have to carry more." Genis retorts. "Of course it's a bad thing."

Raine's watching Colette. "That depends on if Colette decides to follow us. If she doesn't, there's nothing we can do, if she does, then we can see if she'll help carry things." Colette hovers silently, although she is half turned toward Lloyd.

"For a little guy, you sure whine a lot." Daichi states.

Genis gives him a confused look. "Are bigger people supposed to whine more than smaller?"

"..." Daichi gives him a blank look.

Genis sticks his tongue out. "I'm 12. Deal with it."

Raine sighs. "Enough. Let's just get more food and see if there are better weapons and armor."

Daichi heaves himself up. "Lets' go then." To Genis' surprise, Colette follows them blankly. She's the one attracting the most looks, mostly because she was very clearly floating along with them. Once outside, Raine looks about, obviously debating asking for directions.

"Look! A dog!" Genis points at the stray. "They have dogs on this side too."

Daichi frowns slightly. "I shouldn't see why not." He comments. Genis pinks a little as he realizes what he'd said. the dog approaches Colette, tail wagging. Colette doesn't even glance at is as she kicks it away.

"Colette?" Genis yelps.

Even Daichi looks surprised. "I thought Colette loved dogs?"

"Maybe...she thought it was a threat?" Raine muses. From the steps to a higher level comes a man, with violet hair, small gold-lenses glasses, and a purple cape-cloak thing, in time to see the dog land and whimper away.

He laughs, although its a bit of a cackle. "That's a violent young lady there. That's marvelous." And he walks out of Meltokio.

"He looked familiar..." Daichi mutters.

"But still a creep..." Genis comments back.

"... who in the world..." Raine frowns after him. "Anyway... the sign at that store says it's an item shop." Raine points further down the street. "there first, then we can check the next tier."

* * *

Short, but oh well.


	34. Chosen

January 22nd

* * *

Lloyd's feeling much better the next day, Aurian is still sleepy but otherwise more awake. After breakfast, they headed for the third tier - the one that was obviously the Noble Quarter. Piers looks around. He sighs. Daichi shifts, feeling very much out of place. Aurian's sort of hunched up and looking about, while Lloyd and Genis stop and gape. Because they were up front, the rest has to stop behind them. Colette continues forward, and right into a red-haired man who was walking with a bunch of noblewomen. Colette doesn't wobble, but the male had to take a step back. He wore a sleeveless pink coat, half pink-half black gloves, poofy white pants, and a white headband to keep his hair from his face.

"..." Piers has a look on his face that says he disapproves.

"H..hey, watch it!" Lloyd winces at the noblewoman's voice as she complains rather than the man, who was sort of looking Colette up and down appraisingly.

"Watch where you're going!" Another demands. So far, two out of four have shrill voices, the second speaker a dark blue haired girl without a scarf over her hair.

"Now, now, settle down, my darling hunnies!" You can hear the heart after the words of the redhead.

"..." Piers turns away, sticking his finger down his throat and miming gagging. Out of view of the nobles, but in full view of the rest of the party. Evidently the man smiled or something, because his little group pinked a bit. He turned back to Colette, his eyes some mixed shade of grey and green.

"Hi there, my little cool beauty, are you hurt?" Lloyd and Genis are just sort of staring. Colette stares blankly ahead.

"Well! Master Zelos himself has deigned to speak to this girl, and yet look how she acts!" It's the first girl, a blonde.

"Just look at her! It's not even festival time and yet she's dressed up in an angel costume. How stupid are you?" This was third, a brunette.

"Can you believe the nerve of this hag?" The fourth demands, another dark blue haired girl.

You can see the anger-steam on Genis. "...What did you say?"

"...Genis, let it go." Lloyd says, then carefully loudly, complete with a smirk. "She's obviously never looked in a mirror."

Piers smirks, summoning a handful of ice cubes. "Need some ice for that burn?"

"What did you say?" the woman screeches.

"...You're all behaving like children." Raine mutters, shaking her head.

"Now now, settle down." Master Zelos says to his group, before turning back to Colette with a smile. "Are you upset, my little angel? You know, I bet you're as cute as a button when you smile.." He reached out to make some sort of seductive gesture. Daichi steps forward, hand on his newly purchased axe, about to say something. Colette moves, grabbing onto his arm and his coat, and the next thing they know, Master Zelos is flying through the air.

"Owned." Piers comments.

"Ahhhhh! Master Zelos!" The quartet wail. Zelos gets over his surprise and flips to land on his feet, much to the disappointment of Lloyd and Genis.

"Whoa!" Zelos straightens and tugs his coat back straight. "Wow, that was surprise. You sure are strong, my little angel. You certainly startled me!" He's smiling again.

"Can I kill him?" Daichi asks, inaudible to all but the party. Aurian makes a small noise and inches away from Daichi.

Raine makes a thoughtful face. "That wouldn't be wise."

".. Who are you?" Lloyd's got that sort of shifty-emotion-squish sound to his voice - a bit of awe the man landed on his feet, plenty of annoyance at his actions, and a bit of disgust at the color scheme and women he hung out with. Zelos was approaching their party.

Zelos glances at Lloyd. "No offense, but I'm not interested in talking to guys." And he passes both Lloyd and Genis, watching Raine.

"... I hate this guy already." Genis mutters. Even Shikka is a bit annoyed. He's the only one that looks like nobility, holding himself like a king. Even more so now.

"Ohhh! What's your name, beautiful?" Zelos acts like he hadn't seen Raine yet.

"Give me your name, and I'll give you mine." Raine says, crossing her arms.

"... You copied Lloyd!" Genis says, eyes wide.

"...Now that I've heard someone say it, it sounds kind of arrogant." Lloyd admits.

"It doesn't matter when the arrogance meter is currently broken." Piers states aloud, confident that he'll be ignored.

".. True." Lloyd says. And indeed, they were being ignored.

"How about you.." There was a second where Zelos's eyes shifted into a bit more of a blue shade as he watched Aurian, but they returned to grey-green. "Ms Elf?" Her reply was to inch behind Daichi, glance at him as she realized who she inched behind, and moved to behind Shikka. Zelos sort of followed her, and she moved behind Lloyd.

And Daichi promptly grabs Zelos, dragging him back to his initial position. "Leave her alone." His eyes flicker to violet-grey, then back to green. He twists to get Daichi's grip off his coat.

"Well, I guess I have a ways to go." Zelos pretends nothing had happened.

"Master Zelos! Let's go!" One of his girls wraps her arms about one of his.

"Oh, yes, yes, of course. Well then, I'll see you again, my lovely lady? my cute little angel, Ms Elf, and…uh…you other people." They move off.

"..." Daichi, Shikka and Piers all have the same look. One turns and winks at Daichi, then goes back to simpering at Zelos. Genis voices their look.

"What. An. Ass." Genis pronounces. "He was grinning like an idiot the entire time. What's wrong with that guy?"

Daichi catches the wink, smirking lightly. "If you'll excuse me. I have something completely unrelated to do."

"... Don't kill anyone." Raine says, frowning but not hitting Genis for his language. "... and he has an Exsphere." She shrugs. Sheena had told them that no one used Exspheres, but Master Zelos had one in plain sight on his collarbone. Not that they had thought anything of it until he'd left.

"I won't." He states, heading off in the same general direction.

"uhh..." Lloyd blinks a bit. "Meet you here!" Lloyd shouts after Daichi.

"Let's go meet the king." Raine says, nudging them along toward the next tier. Daichi reappears after 20 minutes, looking pleased with himself. He's in time to see them darting out of the large church building after a small pink haired girl who was dragging a log as wide as she was tall and four times Daichi's height. With one hand.

"Well then, I'll let you get to work. The sacred wood goes to Altamira. You can do it after your current job is done." A brown haired potbellied man is talking to the pinkette.

"... Understood." she says.

Daichi blinks. "What'd I miss?"

"The king's sick, the church prays for him, sacred wood is used in prayers, prayers are held in his rooms, Presea brings the sacred wood into the castle." Aurian says quickly.

"The plan is right on schedule. I must report to Lord Rodyle." Aurian froze as the man hurries off faster than a fat man should be able too.

"...Rodyle?" Daichi says, blinking. Aurian squeaks. That's definitely the sound for it, and she hides her face too. Raine turns to try to soothe her, while Genis, bright pink faced, hurries up to Presea, who was starting to drag the log off again.

"...Hey! Hang on a sec! Um…Presea!" He's blushing fit to start steaming.

Daichi seems thoughtful for a second before realizing that they have a new party member. "Who's Genis' girlfriend?"

"Presea. And she's just blanked him the entire time. It's hilarious." Piers comments.

"Could.. we have a moment of your time?" Raine's gotten Aurian to stop hiding her face, so she turns back to Presea. she almost sounds hesitant, and is studying Presea cautiously.

"I'm Lloyd." Lloyd grins. "This is Colette and Raine and Piers and Daichi and Shikka and Aurian and…"

"I-I'm G-genis!" Genis puts in.

"... Genis... why're you all flushed?" Lloyd blinks. Daichi and Piers share a look, smirking.

Genis ignores this, and Lloyd and manages to stutter out, "Would you let us carry the sacred wood?" Presea remains silent, then starts walking off. "W..wait!" Genis wails, almost looking like he'd jump onto the tree Presea was dragging.

"I'm sorry. I know this is a bit strange, but please hear us out. The truth is, we have a letter we wish to give to the King." Raine explains to Presea.

"They didn't let us in?" Daichi asks.

Raine blinks back at him. "I thought Aurian... no, she never said it directly. The king refuses to see any one. they refused to let us into the castle, then to listen to a thing we said."

"Our friend's life depends on it. But we have a problem because the King is sick, and refuses to see anyone. It would really help us out if we could carry it for you." Lloyd's explaining to Presea.

"So, what's with the tree?"

"It's the sacred wood." Raine says. "Apparently, it's a delivery day. that's going to keep the castle for some time. If she helps us, then we're good, if not, we'll have to find some other, not visible or violent," here she glances at Daichi. "way to get in."

Presea's silence was unnerving Lloyd. "A…are you listening?"

Daichi snrks. "Sacred wood." Piers also smirks, stifling giggles.

"... Oh, grow up." Raine grumbles. "Yes, I know that it takes an adult mind to make the connotations, but it takes an even more adult mind not to mention it." she's looking a little stressed, and her grip on her staff is good.

"... Understood." Presea takes a few paces forward.

"Um... P-presea...?" Genis blinks.

"Sorry." Piers and Daichi say in unison. Raine's muttering to herself, and Aurian's blinking and ear-twitching as she hears all of it.

"Please carry that." Presea says blankly, not looking any direction but ahead.

"Oh." Lloyd blinks. "Okay! Leave it to us!" Lloyd takes the handle of the band about the log, and for some strange reason Genis tries to get a grip on it. Daichi and Shikka watch, frowning lightly. Lloyd manages to make it make a grating noise on the ground before his grip fails and he falls on his ass. We'll not mention how miserably Genis was doing. Daichi and Shikka both grab the handles, starting to pull with marginal success.

"That's... heavy!" Lloyd gapes at it, moving out of the log's path.

"Move." Presea has turned back around. The two men move out of the way. Presea takes the handle in one hand again, and starts walking ahead. And the log moves with her.

"I've... lost all confidence as a man." Lloyd mutters, depressed.

"Me too..." Genis deflates.

"You're still boys." Daichi points out.

".. as a male?" Lloyd corrects-proposes weakly.

"Fair point."

"..Anyway, let's follow her." Raine says, passing the four. Aurian follows her, still looking rather shaken, although she's not clutching her hands or anything. Colette floats serenely behind her, but pauses when she reaches Lloyd-stalking-distance.

"ah... right..." Lloyd follows, catching to a good point near Presea... who was dragging the log up the stairs.

Daichi sighs. "I could do that."

"It would require making a scene." Raine points out. "We already have one early festival go-er." Raine's dry tone indicates she doesn't understand how Colette could be in costume.

Daichi shrugs, sighing. "I'm used to making scenes."

"In completely alien nations right in front of their palace, complete with royal and religious armies?" Raine asks dryly. Presea has gotten them into the castle by speaking a sentence, and they move past the green and steel armored guards.

"Why not?"

"I'd rather not get people not involved with our cause killed." Raine watches Presea, who simply stopped dragging the Sacred Wood.

"Well, we're in the castle..." Lloyd's looking about. Ahead of them is the thrones, which are guarded and empty, and there are balconies above and corridors to the sides. They're pretty much ignored.

"Fair point." Piers says.

"What do we do with the sacred wood?" Genis manages not to turn bright pink and stutter his way through saying that because he's not looking directly at Presea.

"... Leave it here." Presea says blankly. Daichi and Piers manage to restrain themselves this time. Shikka rolls his eyes, noticing the effort it took the two.

"Okay..." Lloyd blinks at her, then at the building. "Now, let's go look for the royal chambers."

"Wh-what will y-you do, P-presea?" Genis stutters, turning bright pink as he asks her.

"Yes, sending her back alone would be suspicious." Raine mutters. "Let's have her come with us." Raine sighs. Lloyd takes this as a cue that he should be paying attention.

"Would you do that for us?" Lloyd asks. Presea stares at him with blank dark-blue eyes, but doesn't turn to walk out or anything. Apparently, that is a yes.

"Okaay. Lets take the creepy robot girl with us." Daichi states. Presea doesn't register his remark. Genis scowls at him, clearly furious.

"She's not creepy!" Genis protests. Lloyd's simply glancing about, and Colette hovers there with a similar expression to Presea, and Aurian's ears are flicking quickly.

"...Whatever you say, kid." Aurian tugs on Raine's sleeve, then once her attention was gained, moves to the other hall than the one Lloyd was staring at.

"Let's go this way." Raine says, grabbing Lloyd's suspenders to pull him along. Lloyd twists and follows of his own accord, Colette hovering behind him, Presea following her, and Genis trying to chat her up. Piers and Daichi lightly snigger at his failing attempts.

There are very few people in the halls. One or two guards who stand at attention, a few fine dressed girls, although they held trays or buckets. And then, a larger door with a guards like at the entrance.

"Hey, you. Who gave you permission to come here?" One asks.

"We brought the sacred wood, but then were asked to aid with preparations for the prayers..." Lloyd shrugs, trailing off.

"It was an order from the pope." Raine adds smoothly.

"The Pope? Just a moment. I'll ask." The guard turns - evidently the pope is in the room. Lloyd blinks and lunges, his hand coming down on the back of the guy's neck as he gets the door unlocked.

"Sorry about this." Lloyd mutters.

Piers darts forward, casting ply on the guard to heal any external wounds. "If you wanted him to sleep..."

"He was going to open the door!" Lloyd says. "I didn't have time." And he straightens, takes a deep breath, and finishes opening the door.

"Time." Piers says. "Is relative." He joins Lloyd as he opens the door.

"Ball. Wibbley wobbly." Aurian mumbles, twitching a little, before she tilts her head in a blank, and they follow Lloyd in. A fat man with brown hair and a huge nose turns to face them.

"What's going on?" the red haired man in pink turns about.

"Huh?" he blinks, then smirks. "It's you people."

"Ah!" Lloyd almost recoils from him. "You're the one we met..."

"Yeah. The jerkface." Piers states coldly. Master Zelos doesn't appear to have heard him.

"Chosen!" The pope, as he wasn't the one in the bed, nor the blond in a dress next to it, whirls on the redhead, who gave him a smile and wink. "Do you know them?"

"Chosen?" Genis yelps.

"...Jerkface is the chosen of Tethe'Alla?" Piers asks.

"Well, I dunno if I'd say I know them." Zelos drawls, glancing over, ignoring Piers. Again. "Just what are you people doing here?"

Raine puts it together in a better light than Piers. "So you're Tethe'Alla's Chosen of Mana." She stresses Tethe'Alla.

"What?" Genis and Lloyd yelp, although Lloyd follows it up. "That guy's the Chosen?"

"..." Piers brushes his hair from his eyes.

"No way!" Lloyd's trying to compair Colette and Zelos's personalities, what he'd seen of the Tethe'Allans so far. "There is no way." Zelos ignores him too, his now gray eyes fixing on Raine.

"What do you mean, 'Tethe'Alla's'?" Zelos caught her emphasis.

"Are you... from Sylvarant?" The pope's expression changes rapidly.

"So what if we are?" Daichi growls.

"..Yeah." Lloyd shrugs, glancing up at Daichi. Aurian's blinking and tilting her head.

"These are people from the declining world?" the blonde girl, who must be the princess, sounded panicked.

"Princess, have no fear." Zelos's voice was lilting and jovial, then more or less serious as he glances over at Lloyd. "Um.. What's your name?"

"... Lloyd." Lloyd says slowly. Piers watches Zelos coldly, his golden eyes never leaving the man for a second.

Zelos completely ignores him, his eyes on Lloyd. "Lloyd, for what purpose have you come here?" He sounds completely serious.

"..." Lloyd blinks, and realizes what was going on, straightening a bit. "We've come to deliver this letter." Lloyd has it passed to him from Raine. "It's from Sheena of Mizuho to the King." Said King was propped up on pillows to keep upright. Piers swaps view from Zelos, to Lloyd and then to the King.

"Sheena?" Zelos repeats, and his eyes flicker to greenish for a second, then back to straight gray. "What's your relationship with Sheena?"

"Sheena?" the King asks, and he sound sick.

"Companion." Aurian mumbles. The Pope's eyes widen on her for a second, before he turns to the King.

"Your Majesty! Please forgive us for causing a disturbance in your presence." There was something off about him.

"...Too many people speaking at once." Shikka comments.

"Lloyd... Give me the letter." The King says, not even looking at the pope but at the brunette twin blade. Lloyd looked at him, then carefully pulled his sheathed blades from his belts and handed them to Piers. Piers takes them, holding them off to one side. Lloyd carefully approached, watching Zelos from the corner of his eye, and offered the letter to the king so that the open side was toward him, and then backed off immediately after the king had taken it.

"People of Sylvarant, wait in the other room for a while." the King says, leaning back.

"... Pastor, show them to the Crimson Chamber." The Pope orders. Sure enough, there was a pastor or two standing in a corner. One bows to them and leads them away. No-one kicks up any sort of fuss, following the pastor. Aurian's starting to get glances from the few Tethe'Allans that actually act like they notice the Sylvaranti. It might be because her ears are flicking quite a lot, and that makes them very visible and noticeable. The Pastor bows them into a room within which everything is either red, red, or red with dark brown wood. Presea silently takes a seat on the edge of the bed, Genis follows her.

"Too much red." Piers comments, looking out of place, dressed mainly in blue.

"... yep." Lloyd agrees, hands in his pockets. Colette still floats behind him, although when he starts pacing out of boredom, she remains more or less in the center of the free space. Raine takes a carved armchair, Aurian finding a spot on one of two couches. Daichi takes up a chair in the corner.

Piers leans against a wall. "The Chosen of Tethe'Alla is a jerkface." He states.

Shikka nods. "I agree that he doesn't seem too friendly."

"nnn." Lloyd mutters, still pacing. "... Is it just me, or does this room smell funny? And are they just taking an insanely long time, or am I nervous?"

"They may be prepairing to kill us." Raine points out dryly. "To them, Colette is an obstacle."

"It does smell familiar..." Shikka comments.

"Yeah... Like..." Daichi begins. "Blood." Both he and Shikka finish at once.

"Very red." Aurian agrees quietly. Lloyd makes a face, then takes his swords back from Piers, and resumes pacing.

"...If things turn out like that, what will become of Presea?" Genis protests.

"I, personally, have a feeling that Presea can defend herself." Piers seems a bit more 'high-and-mighty' than usual. Presea hasn't responded since telling them what would become of the sacred wood.

"We can find some way to help her escape." Lloyd soothes Genis.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this, Presea." Genis stutters out. Presea doesn't respond. Daichi is rubbing at a wall, and then sniffing his hand to see if any scent has come off. The door opens, and immediately Lloyd steps to be between Raine and Colette and the door, Genis jumping up to stand beside his sister. Daichi stops rubbing the wall like a crazy person and hovers his hand near his axe. Piers straightens and Shikka does nothing. Zelos, the Pope, and two green-and-steel guards come in, complete with halberds.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, travelers from Sylvarant." The Pope says.

".. So you read the letter." Lloyd asks, since he can't read faces that well.

"You want to use Tethe'Allan technology to save the Chosen from your side...right?" Zelos's eyes were still gray, but they were flitting more toward green at the end.

"That's right." Piers states.

"Colette has lost her soul." Lloyd sort of struggles to actually say this. "She'll lose her life as a human if she stays this way."

"But as long as the Chosen lives, our world teeters on the brink of destruction." The Pope gestures, and his two guards move and attempt to grab Colette.

"It's just like Raine said!" Genis wails.

"Wait, please!" Lloyd remembered Yuan's words of 'weapon' and 'defense'.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." Piers says, almost sing-song like.

"Listen to what we-" Lloyd is cut off by the Pope.

"I don't want to hear it! Get them!" The pope snaps. The two guards attempt to grab Colette, but she moves. Metal groans and the two men gasp as Colette's hands dent their plate mail back into their guts. the next instant, a breeze stirs, and the guards are held against the wall, the Pope is standing stiffly and Zelos is calmly palming the air, rather like a mime and his invisible wall.

"Told you~!" Piers says. Aurian's staring dully at the pope, her knees up to her chin and ears flat back against her head.

"Damn!" the pope snarls.

"See?" Zelos drawls, still calmly feeling out his 'cage'. "I told you. They have Exspheres. Of course they're powerful."

"Hmm... You're not as dumb as you look." Genis drawls back.

"... You impudent little brat." Zelos's eyes flashed violet.

"Genis is correct. Your looks belie your overrall intelligence. And dress sense." Piers states. Zelos makes an angry face that clashes with his pretty-boy look. He puts his hand over his face, and it vanishes after a second or two of breathing. He then reaches up to feel out his cage again.

"What would you say to making a deal?" Raine leans back, threading her fingers together and watching the pope.

"... A deal?" He can barely move.

"Considering that a mere word from our friend can constrict the air around you, I suggest its best to listen." Piers says, still that weird, aloof coldness to his voice. Lloyd gives him a strange look, but Raine nods, and Aurian's bland expression doesn't indicate either way with her thoughts on squishing them. Zelos is now idly curling the ends of his long hair about his fingers.

"Colette lost her soul because she was being reborn as an angel in order to save Sylvarant. But as long as she does not become an angel, Sylvarant will not be saved." Raine explains.

"I see, so if we save the Chosen, Tethe'Alla will be saved as well." Zelos says, smirking a little at the Pope.

"... That means you would be abandoning Sylvarant." The pope points out.

"I don't care." Raine says flatly.

"What are you saying, professor?" Lloyd hisses.

Raine glances at him, still looking cold. "Our priority right now is to save Colette, is it not?"

"Raine is correct." Piers states.

"But..abandoning Sylvarant..." Genis whispers.

"..." Lloyd takes a deep breath. "... All right." He gives Raine a look that she used on him - You'd better explain when we don't have High And Mighty Company. "That's fine."

"Is it okay to decide something like that so easily?" Genis asks.

"Right now, the most important thing is to save Colette." Piers says.

"That's why we came all the way to Tethe'Alla, right?" Lloyd smiles a little.

"Is there internal discord?" The Pope sounds a little hopeful.

"No.. We'll do as the Professor suggested and make a deal." Lloyd straightens and eyes the pope. "Please tell us how to save Colette." The pope frowns.

"Also remember that we hold the key to your release." Piers states coldly.

"Go, Piers." Daichi mumbles, slightly awed. Aurian doesn't even look like she's holding any spells, although the way she's hunched up does scent of anger.

"Say, Pope." Zelos leans against the invisible walls of his prison, one arm above his head and the other on the belt by the small short blade. "If these guys don't go back to Sylvarant, then it doesn't matter if they're alive or dead. They can't complete the regeneration ritual." He points out, smirking. "So I'll go along and keep tabs on them."

"...Do we have to?" Piers groans.

"... The entire country would be set against us. Is, in a way." Aurian speaks up. "We're Sylvaranti. Not Tethe'Allan. Having their Chosen with us would make them react better. Pasteing them won't help anything."

The Pope's eyes widen as he figures out what 'Pasteing' referred too, and he quickly glanced at Zelos, not moving more than his eyes in terror. "If you insist, Chosen One."

"Then, you'll save Colette, right?" Genis tentatively asks.

"Well, we'll do what we can," Zelos shrugs, "Anyway, I swear on my name as Zelos, the Chosen." He taps his Exsphere as he says that, getting a weak flicker. Lloyd looks sick for a second, then covers it.

"I'll give you permission to travel Tethe'Alla, but only under the Chosen's observation." The pope says quickly.

"Like we needed permission." Daichi mutters.

"I'd rather not be hunted." Aurian says flatly.

"I guess we don't have much of a choice. Okay, that's fine." Lloyd shoves his hands into his pockets. Piers sighs dramatically, but says nothing else.

"Then it's settled! I'm going to go get ready, so can we meet up later?" Zelos smiles brightly. It's a tiny bit better than his smirks, and his eyes shift back into gray-green.

"... Where do you want to meet?" Lloyd asks.

"Hmmm..." Zelos leans against one wall, moving into a visible thinking pose. "How about in the Martel Cathedral? It's the big building to the right when you exit the castle."

"Okay. Martel Temple, got it." Daichi states.

"If you would be so kind, Ms Elf?" Zelos turns his smile to her. Aurian shrugged, and because Zelos was still leaning on her spell, he had to catch himself when it simply vanished rather than dissolved.

"Then, Chosen One, please report this to His Majesty." The Pope gives a heavy sigh of relief and more or less books it out. The two guards with their dented armor are only slower due to armor damage.

"Amateurs." Piers growls.

"You got it." Zelos was smirking again. "See you later, my gorgeous lady, cute Chosen, Ms Elf, and tiny rosebud, oh, and you servant boys." and he sort of half-swaggers out. After the door shuts, a bucket of water, made of water, emptied itself on Piers' head. It was faintly soapy, and smelled of lemons.

"Grumpy." Aurian mutters. Piers, instead of flinching like a normal person, sighs.

"Aah... Refreshing~" He frowns slightly. "You have my apologies, but something about that Zelos man really irked me." Aurian nods, still sitting hunched up.

"In any case... I think we might as well wait in the cathedral." Raine sighs. "We've already done our shopping, and the sooner we help Colette, the better..."

"Even if that ass is what we have to put up with to get her back." Genis sighs.

"'Ass' is too mild a word to describe him." Daichi states. Lloyd mutters his agreement, messing with his hair.

"Hopefully we get an answer quick." Lloyd opens the door and pauses, then sets off again. "... this way to the kings room, then this way back to the entrance..." Colette floats behind him, and Presea follows her, and Genis skips to behind her, attempting to chat her up. Shikka smiles lightly at something. Piers still looks serious, but more composed. Raine's studying the walls and decorations about them as they walk, and Aurian's just quietly out of reach, watching everything she can with flicks of her ears. Back outside, it's nearly dusk. The Noble Tier off to their left is aglow, and so is the stain glass of the cathedral to their right.

"The air still seems so fresh around here." Daichi comments.

"More lightning." Aurian mutters. "More Ice. More Earth. More Dark... more... life..." she tilts her head, blinks, and blanks. Genis stares blankly at her over Presea's head, as Lloyd sticks his hands in his pockets, eyeing the stained glass from the outside for a bit.

"Should we be heading in? It's getting colder." Lloyd asks, glancing back.

"Sure." Daichi states. Piers has dried off, shrugging. "I'm in no hurry to see Master Zelos again, but if its to save Colette..." there was heavy sarcasm on Zelos's title. Lloyd nods, heading in. Somehow, Zelos is already relaxed in one of the pews. He glances back as they sort of troup in, and then gets up, smirking and gray-green.

"Yo, Lloyd!" Zelos calls. "You're finally here."

"Ahhh... Zelos, right?" Lloyd isn't sure how to deal with Zelos.

"Yep yep." Zelos says cheerfully. "I am the great Zelos Wilder. But you can just call me Zelos." and the man winks at Lloyd.

"For a member of an advanced civilization, you're very crudely mannered." Shikka states. Zelos blinked, glancing up at him. His eyes flicked to blue-gray, then back to green.

"Ah, and here I thought I was putting you all at ease." He shrugs, putting his thumbs in his belts. "We're going to be traveling together for a while, so, um…let's be friends, mmmkay?" he grins at the lot of them.

"He sounds like he doesn't take anything seriously." Genis mutters sourly. Piers' expression has soured slightly. Daichi just isn't paying attention, staring off into space.

Zelos studies them, one hand tracing his jaw in a thinking gesture. "Let's see, putting aside the five guys..." And his eyes do indeed skip over them. "This gorgeous beauty is Raine, right? then Ms Elf is one Aurian." He pronounces it carefully with more accents than Aurian herself put in it, and glances to the next. "and then this cool cutie here would be Colette. And then who's this little one?"

"Presea." Genis says reluctantly. "She helped us sneak into the castle."

"the little one isn't from Sylvarant?" Zelos blinks at her.

"... Ozette." Presea says blandly.

"Ozette!" Zelos over-the-top recoils. "That village out in the boondoc-... Ah, I mean, out in the forest?" His little slip was not unnoticed. "Oh, that's so sad. You're being used by these uncivilized barbarians."

"..." This seems to be the party's general reaction.

"Just for the record, we have a king." Daichi states. Shikka blinks, confused as to how this involves him.

"I'm sure that's great for you." Zelos sort of waves a hand at Daichi in dismissal.

"Who... are you calling uncivilized barbarians?" Lloyd's got that angry eyebrow twitch that says he's restraining himself from shouting.

"Hey, hey, don't get mad. Especially after all the trouble I went through to contact the Imperial Research Academy for you." It's obvious he's more interested in Lloyd than the other males.

"..." The other four males seem to have the universal look for 'this guy is a douche' on their faces.

"Not bad, Zelos." Lloyd manages not to let it sound too grudgingly.

"I know. Using the Research Academy requires permission from the King, but when the great Zelos speaks, His Majesty listens." Zelos flatters his own ego.

"Since you're going to be keeping tabs on us, I'd certainly expect that much." Genis grumbles. Daichi mutters something crude under his breath. Those with keen hearing will pick it up immediately. Aurian blinks at him, her ears flicking as she tilts her head curiously.

Zelos frowns down at Genis, his eyes flicking into violet-gray. "You're an obnoxious brat, you know?"

"Going to the Imperial Research Academy is fine, but can we have you free Presea?" Raine rubs her forehead. She's imagining much argument breaking up to come. "Surely you don't need to keep tabs on her as well."

"No. The Imperial Research Academy and Ozette are both on the continent across the sea. So we can just drop her off when we go." Zelos shrugs, his eyes shifting back to gray-green.

"I...I agree!" Genis is thrilled to be spending more time with Presea. "That's a great idea!"

"...Wow." Piers comments. "I've never seen someone so smitten before." Genis ignores him. Aurian looks confused.

"Is that okay with you, Presea?" Lloyd asks.

"... yes." Presea answers blandly.

Lloyd blinks and looks back at Zelos. "Okay then, where should we go?"

"To Sybak. It's on the other side of the Grand Tethe'Alla Bridge. It's northeast of here." Zelos, Mr. Native Guide, explains. "But first, it's night. and January." He studies them all for a bit. "... Follow me!" He smiles and heads out.

"... okay..." Lloyd follows him. Zelos leads them across the courtyard infront of the Castle, past a small hedge garden, then into the noble district. There's a big hall like building, then a rather marble-like place. Zelos knocks.

A butler opens the door. "Master Zelos, welcome." he bows them inside.

"The rooms are all clean, right?"

"Yes, Master Zelos."

"Maybe he's not so much of a douche as we thought..." Daichi mumble-comments. Zelos doesn't seem to have heard that.

"Welcome to Wilder Manor, People of Sylvarant." the butler bows to them. "This way." Zelos has wandered off already, and Lloyd's blinking about. The main theme of the colors seems to be red.

"What is it with the Tethe'Allans and red? What's wrong with a little bit of blue?" Piers grumbles.

"What's wrong with red?" Lloyd asks, following the butler. Colette hovers behind him.

"Nothing. It's just that it's everywhere. That room in the castle, this manor..." Piers continues ranting.

Daichi sighs. "Looks like someone needs some sleep. Or a whack across the head." The butler leads them to rooms. there's enough for everyone to have their own, and then some by the sheer amount of doors. Daichi, Shikka and Piers say goodnight and enter their rooms. Raine manages to get Colette to come with her instead of floating behind Lloyd, and Aurian heads into her own. Genis splits off, and Lloyd opens a door, although not the one that the butler had indicated for him. Inside is a weird, brightly lit room. Far too big to be contained in that room. There's a man with black, messy hair in a pinstripe suit and a woman with bronze hair.

"CLOSE THE DOOR!" They yell. Lloyd blinks, then nods, and does so. After a moment, he opens it again. It's just a room.

Piers looks out. "What the hell are you doing?"

"... uh... must be seeing things." Lloyd shuts the door, and heads to his own.

"Stay off the mushroom gels, then." Piers states before closing his door. Lloyd mutters about not knowing what a mushroom gel was as he heads to bed.

* * *

E cookie if you understand what Lloyd saw :D


	35. Bridge

January 23rd

* * *

Daichi nearly falls out of his door.

"Agh..." Piers stares at him.

"What. The. Hell?"

"I thought it was a pull door. I leant against it..." Daichi's face is half foamy. Seems he was shaving a bit. Lloyd stumbles sleepily from his room.

"Good morning, Sirs." The butler was a ninja or something. "Breakfast is nearly done, I was on my way to wake you. The dining room is the third door on the left once you are down the stairs." he straightens and moves to knock on Genis' door. Daichi gets to his feet, whistling slightly.

"I'll be down in a bit." He states, turning and going back into his room.

Lloyd blinks sleepily at him. "... he's in a good mood." he mumbles, and stumbles through the directions the Butler had given.

"Daichi." Lloyd mumbles. Genis comes out of his room and pushes Lloyd so he's not in a collision path with the wall. Lloyd mutters his thanks. Piers joins the three on their way down to breakfast. Zelos is already there, although without his coat or shoes, and there's a towel about his shoulders and his hair is damp. Lloyd blinks at him, then zombies his way through food.

"Just ignore Lloyd. He needs coffee." Piers states, pointing the teen in the correct direction. Lloyd makes a very intelligent sound groan-grunt noise, but he does make himself some coffee and hunch over it at the table. Zelos raises his eyebrows.

"Not a morning person, I see." He sounds quite awake. Aurian peeks around the door. It looks like she's doing a people-count. Colette floats behind her. Daichi is behind her, wearing the under-armor clothes of his Desian uniform. He figured that without the armor they were just normal clothes. Besides, his others were in dire need of repair. Aurian stifles a yelp, as if she hadn't noticed him there and picks a chair where she can watch people. She looks very jumpy. Colette blankly floats to hover behind Lloyd.

"Sorry, Aurian." He says, seeming very happy for some reason. Shikka walks down, hiding his ears and his tail. Genis blinks at what's been laid out, and sets to making more.

"Something wrong with the food?" Zelos's eyes narrow, a complex green-amethyst-grey shade, but he still sounds cheery enough.

"Not enough." Genis tells him. Aurian has secured a couple pieces of toast and is steadily munching through them. Lloyd's looking more awake. Shikka settles next to Lloyd, tying his hair back into a ponytail. Daichi and Piers sit on either side of Aurian. She still looks uncomfortable with everything.

"Something wrong, Ms Elf?" Zelos' tone and expression, not to mention eye color, brighten as he talks to a female. Aurian blinks at him, slowly, then quickly.

"... new place." She doesn't say anything more because she had shoved her food into her mouth and had no room to say anything more. It works well. Daichi scowls at Zelos' change in tone, but says nothing. Zelos blinks. Presea follows Raine in much the way that Colette had Aurian.

"In order to go to Sybak, we have to cross the Grand Tethe'Alla Bridge." Zelos says, pulling a rolled map out of his pocket and waves it a little. Aurian had an apple, and then she didn't. Raine takes the map from him and some breakfast with the other hand.

"... that is a long bridge..." Raine mutters.

"How long?" Piers says, looking over Raine's shoulder.

"well... assuming the scale is the same as our map." She spreads out her map of Sylvarant. "... it looks like we would take three days to cross at our usual pace." Raine stretches her fingers to show the little marks she'd made on the Sylvarant map to the grid pattern on the Tethe'Alla one.

Zelos leans over. "... It looks like the scale of your map is smaller..." Zelos mutters. "... Sylvarant looks like it's got more land mass to it."

"That's what she said." Daichi comments quietly, drinking from a cup of coffee. Raine absently knocks his face into his cup.

"Maybe. Your map shows quite a bit more ocean, though." Raine says, just as absently, as she noms. Lloyd peers too, but quickly looses interest. Genis is attempting to make conversation with Presea. Daichi splutters, blinking.

"Ow." He says, but doesn't complain. Zelos blinks at this interaction.

"... So what needs doing?" Zelos asks.

"We need more supplies." Raine says.

"Easy." Zelos shrugs.

"You and Presea need camping equipment, if you don't already have them." Presea stared blankly at Raine.

"... I have what I need." She says softly.

"Still easy." Zelos shrugs again.

"I can go shopping for healing items." Piers offers.

"Or Sebastian can see what the Manor has already." Zelos says, rocking his chair back onto two legs.

"Yes, Master Zelos." the butler bows, and walks out. Lloyd looks startled.

"I had no idea he was there." Lloyd mutters.

"Butlers are trained to not draw attention to themselves." Piers states.

"... okay..." Lloyd blinks, then sets his attention back to eating. Some of the food that Aurian picks up simply vanishes instead of being chipmunk-cheeked. Raine raps her hand.

"Chew first." Aurian sort of sulkily does so. Daichi mutters.

Piers sighs. "Well, I need to do something."

"You can all take baths." Raine points out. Lloyd blinks, and does a little inconspicuous sniffing. "Or did you not notice that the rooms had bathrooms attached." From Lloyd, and Aurian's expressions, they hadn't.

"I did." Said Daichi, in a manner of a child wanting a cookie for doing something good.

"I noticed." Raine comments. "You smell like shaving cream."

"We can do more mending." Genis points out, by pointing at Daichi's uniformness.

"It was getting a bit long..." he says, rubbing his chin. "And I do have a lot of mending to do..."

"Well, I'll meet you all back here in an hour or two." Zelos says, jumping up and pulling his coat and boots on.

"Huh?" Lloyd blinks at him.

"I've got goodbyes to make!" Zelos says, smirking. "All the poor hunnies who will be devastated by me leaving, even if it is temporary and in such company." He winks at Raine, who bluntly ignores him. Lloyd's interest fades like no other at Zelos' words. Daichi whistles slightly, knowing a few that wouldn't be gracious in accepting goodbyes. Lloyd makes a blunt noise, turning back to his food. "later, my gorgeous beauty, little rose bud, cute angel, Ms Elf. And you dudes." Zelos waves and heads out.

Daichi stands, stretching. "Well. If you excuse me, I got clothes to fix."

"... a bath..." Lloyd's expression brightened. "I wonder how much hot water I can go through..." with his evil plan in mind, he heads back upstairs.

"You are coming with me." Raine claims one of Aurian's arms, and takes her back upstairs. Colette and Presea blankly follow. Genis sighs.

Piers blinks. "So I take it no-one else but me, Raine and Daichi bathed last night?"

"I didn't scrub as long as I could." Genis says, eating slowly. "The bed looked too tempting to stay away from too long."

Shikka yawns, blinking at everyone. "What is the obsession with humans and bathing?"

"What's the obsession between felines and licking themselves? It's the same thing, more or less." Genis shrugs. "One usually involves less tongue."

"Usually." Daichi says, smirking. Genis blinks at him.

"That was more than I ever wanted to know." He tells Daichi flatly, before picking up dishes and food remnants and packing them for later. Daichi chuckles, leaving the room.

"Okay. I'm scared." Piers states. "He is TOO happy."

"You think someone slipped him something?" Genis asks, picking up the bundles to pocket them.

"That may be the case." Piers states. Something feels like the mariner didn't mean drugs...

Genis just shrugged it away. "It's better than having him depressed and watching Aurian like he wants her to take the frying pan back out and beat him with it." Genis says.

"True." Piers shakes his head. "But he may do something...Stupid."

"Then Raine will hit him." Genis shrugs again. "And if that's not enough, we can give Aurian the frying pan again."

"This seems to be a vicious circle." Piers comments. The Mariner seems different, too. More mature.

Genis shrugs. "People are people." Genis comments. maybe a little sourly. "They tend to get stuck." He heads back up to his room. Piers sighs, standing and leaving too. Shikka tagging behind. Presea is sitting blankly on a chair in the hall. Colette's likely in the room that Raine had taken Aurian too.

* * *

January 24th

* * *

Zelos skips ahead of them to the base of the stares of the large green and gray construct. He spins about, putting his arms behind his head as he smiles at them. Early morning, a couple hours after lunch, and Aurian mysteriously had a piece of toast and is munching quietly.

"Listen and be amazed, bumpkins. This is the greatest drawbridge in the world." Zelos announces.

"Wow." Daichi states dully. Obviously not impressed.

"It connects the continents of Sleipnir and Midgard." Zelos pretends to not have heard that. "Its control system incorporates 3,000 Exspheres." Aurian immediately goes even paler than the normal pale, and the rest of the Sylvaranti, minus Colette, go ashen.

"3000..." Genis whispers, eyes wide.

"Three thousand...human lives..." Lloyd manages not to choke as he stares at the bridge in horror.

Daichi swallows nervously. "H-How did...? He stammers.

"Hmm? What? What's wrong? What's with those faces?" Zelos blinks at them.

"Oh, right.. .you don't know..." Lloyd blinks at Zelos.

"Well, better tell you..." Raine scrubs her head. "Each Exsphere is a product of the torture and death of one human."

"On Sylvarant, it's normally done by the Desians..." Daichi states, looking away.

"Huh." Zelos blinks, looking serious again, his eyes a slightly blue shade of grey. "That's a pretty sobering story. Is that really true?" Lloyd twitches.

Daichi growls. "Would we lie about something that fucked up?" Lloyd's expression says he agrees with Daichi's words. Raine whacks Daichi upside the head, although not as hard as she might other times. Maybe she inwardly agrees. Presea stares blankly at the edge of the bridge.

"Oh, well, even so, it's not like the dead are going to come back to life at this point. It's always best to look on the bright side of things!" Zelos smirks again, eyes shifting into a more green shade.

Daichi raises his axe. "Why I oughta..!" He seems unfazed by Raine's whack.

So Raine hits him again. "Daichi, think of it this way. We're guests. In the entire world. He's one of the few people high enough to be possibly considered a host. Behave." she then stares at Zelos. "Although, I can't tell if he's a positive thinker or just doesn't care about anything..."

Daichi twitches, lowering his axe. "Nggh...Fine."

"Since we're on the subject, you and Presea both have Exspheres, too." Although Presea's was a peculiar shade of dull red. Lloyd steers the subject close, but away from this bit of nastyness. "Does everyone have Exspheres in this world? It didn't sound like it from the way Sheena talked about them." Daichi subconsciously rubs the back of his neck.

"Hmm, nope." Zelos attempts to look down at his and ends up just brushing it lightly with his fingers cause he can't. "I got this from these guys who call themselves the Renegades. They distributed quite a few of them to Sheena and the Papal Knights and such."

"So...the owner of the ambiguously camp pimp mansion is behind all this..." Piers muses.

"Daichi did say they stole from Desians." Genis points out. "And I think I remember Kvar-" there was a tiny shudder from Lloyd "- mentioning renegade rats stealing Exspheres."

"So they've been giving them to Tethe'Allans..." Raine mutters. Aurian looks more or less traumatized. She's staring at the bridge and shifting on her feet like she doesn't want to stand on it.

Daichi growls. "To think...This is what the lives they stole are doing now..."

Aurian has inched back so she's standing on the ground rather than the bridge. "Better'n what you did to 'em." Her voice was just loud enough to carry to him. Raine grimaces. Daichi blinks and then stops. That comment effectively stopping him. He sighs, looking away, slightly disgusted at himself. Zelos eyes this interaction with interest. Daichi catches Zelos' eye and shoots a glance that says 'inquire at your own risk'.

"And Presea?" Genis noticed that Zelos had said nothing about her.

"Beats me." Zelos shrugs. "Well, little one?" Presea stares at the bridge blankly. "She's so talkative." Zelos false-gushes. Something is thrown at Zelos from the direction of Piers. It's a small rock. The mariner looks innocent. Zelos manages to turn around and make it look like he wasn't avoiding the rock at the same time. "So. Now that you have basked in the glory that is Lezareno make, let's get that tram." Zelos heads further up the bridge. Aurian looks depressed, and apologetic as she tries not to walk too hard on the bridge. Colette floats behind Lloyd.

"Tram?" Daichi asks, shaking himself out of his depression.

"There's a cart we can take instead of walking." Zelos explains a little. "Mostly, the bridge is used for EC's, machines that run across the land like your wagons." He just assumed that. "So, for foot... Found it~!" Zelos shoved a little on the wall. Daichi still looks confused by this tram business. The wall moves back and allows a cart to be viewed. What looked like empty space between the rail and the bridge supports had tracks, and the cart had bench seats that looked more or less unworn by use.

"Most people go with EC's, but since we don't have one..." Zelos eyed it. Presea walked over, and pointed at a small set of buttons. "Ah, Presea, you're so helpful." Zelos cheered. Another rock flies from nowhere. Zelos avoids it by ducking to look to see if there's anything trying to live in the cart.

"All right, bumpkins, all aboard!" Zelos cheers. Lloyd grumbles, but picks a seat, and Colette floats in behind him. Aurian gingerly picks a seat, and Raine sits near Colette. Zelos tries to sit next to her, but Genis takes the spot. And Piers and Daichi flank Aurian, Shikka settling behind. Zelos shrugs, taking the spot next to the controls, and Presea quietly sits in an empty space. Daichi seems to be bracing himself.

"All seated?" Zelos asks, although he doesn't really wait for an answer before pressing a button. The cart groans, then starts moving. It's a bit faster than Lloyd running, a nice hair blowing speed. Zelos fortunately is keeping a hand on his hair. Daichi flinches at the judder.

"This is kinda nice." Lloyd admits. "I kinda liked riding the dragons more, though."

"I prefer the sea, but I agree with Lloyd." Piers mumbles.

"You ride dragons?" Zelos looks either appalled or worried.

"Once." Lloyd mutters, grimacing as he glances at Colette.

"... Okay..." Zelos resolves it in his mind as 'bumpkins are strange', by his expression.

After a few minutes of silence, there's a plaintive howl. "Huh?" Zelos looks up as Lloyd frowns a little. Aurian's ears are twitching confusedly. Daichi perks, looking around. Lloyd frowns as the howl sounds again, but closer.

"... Noishe?" Lloyd says slowly. Aurian's expression clears as Lloyd says this and she relaxes. The howl sounded again, and Zelos peered over Lloyd.

"Is that... a green and white monster?" He asks slowly.

"Noishe is a dog." Lloyd states, grinning widely now. Piers and Daichi frown.

"Noishe?" They both say in unison. Indeed, bounding along behind the cart was the green and white dog, and he was slowly gaining on them. Noishe howls again, but this time he sounds happier.

"Noishe!" Lloyd waves at his pet.

"... That's a dog?" Zelos says doubtfully.

"He's Lloyd's." Raine says.

"How the..." Daichi started.

"Bloody hell..." Piers continued.

"Did he..."

"Get here?" Noishe catches up to them, and whines, while Lloyd laughed and worked his way over to try to scratch the running dog's large ears.

"... That's not a dog." Zelos takes in the purple feet, and the large wing like ears and the bushy tail. "No way."

"He's my dog." Lloyd insists.

"He says he can't tell you." Shikka comments. Daichi and Piers have very skeptical looks.

"So." Daichi starts, folding his arms. "No-one is gonna question this?"

Raine looks up. "I've more or less given up trying to study him." She says it wistfully.

"It's Noishe." Genis says by means of explanation. "He's scared of monsters, even when he's three times their size. I'm not that surprised." Colette remains silent, and Lloyd just thinks his dog is really smart or something to get across. Zelos is frowning at Noishe as Noishe keeps pace with their cart.

"So...Okay. I can roll with that." Daichi states.

"So that's a Sylvaranti dog?" Zelos asks.

"No, that's _Lloyd'_s dog." Genis stresses Lloyd's. "Village talk said that he's always been with Lloyd, since he showed up at Dirk's. Other dogs look more or less like the one we saw in Meltokio."

"... So it's not a dog...?" Zelos eyes Noishe.

"His name is Noishe. Use it." Lloyd mutters.

"Right, right.." Zelos mutters.

"So, while we're on names.." Zelos leans back on his seat and crosses his arms behind his head. "I'll take this point to decide all your nicknames." Genis's expression flat lines. "You're 'Brat', you're 'Hey You', you're 'Seaweed', and you're 'Puddle', and you're 'Sandbox'." Zelos points at Genis, Lloyd, Daichi, Piers, then Shikka. "And Colette is 'Miss Angel', Presea is 'Little One', Aurian is 'Ms Elf' and Raine will be 'Gorgeous Ultra Cool Beauty.'"

"I'll show you puddle!" Piers starts glowing. "_Douse_!" A torrent of water falls from the sky onto Zelos.

"...Seaweed...?" Daichi seems to be having issues with understanding that nickname.

Shikka blinks. "I like sand." Zelos yelps as he gets soaked, and then yelps again as he flails the water away.

"Gee, you must have spent a long time thinking up Lloyd's and mine." Genis mutters.

"Don't mention it." Zelos takes it as praise, although he's muttered in the response.

"I don't want to be called something like that." Raine says flatly.

"Soo... 'Her Highness'." Zelos apparently packed towels, because he has one. Daichi just sits there, thoughtful. Piers is sulky and Shikka is just sitting there, blinking.

"Pick something more normal." Raine face palms. Aurian just looks confused with the world.

"The professor is the professor." Lloyd mutters. He looks sulky with his name too. "What else would she be?"

"Hmm? Hmmm... Professor... that does have a nice ring to it. The bewitching female teacher..." Zelos laughs a little.

"Oh, fine, whatever. I don't care anymore." Raine mutters. She seems to be at her Zelos-tolerance limit.

"Okay then, 'Professor Raine' it is!" Zelos cheers.

"... Whatever." Raine mumbles, pulling out a book. Noishe whines.

"You can be furball." Noishe barks.

"He doesn't like that name." Shikka states. "He prefers fuzzy." Noishe whines again.

".. Wait, you can get all that?" Lloyd blinks, then looks depressed that someone understands his pet better than him. "I got the first bit, but..."

"... You can speak to that mutt?" Noishe yelps at Zelos, eyeing him.

"Of course." Shikka says, saying as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Noishe is Noishe." Lloyd insists to Zelos.

"Fine, fine."

"Noishe is quite intelligent." Shikka states, petting the 'dog.' Noishe barks, then dashes ahead of them.

"I can see the other continent." Lloyd points out.

"You could from the beginning." Genis mutters.

"That's not the point! I can see trees!"

"We've got the rest of the day yet." Zelos says. Daichi pulls on a pair of fingerless gauntlets. They have studs on the back of the hand, mainly used for melee fighting. He clips Zelos across the back of the head.

Zelos yelps again. "Oi, oi!"

"I just got it. It's just the light, you douche."

Lloyd blinks at him. "You just got it?"

"Shaddup." Daichi says. Lloyd looks pleased with himself. Genis sighs and pulls out the Alchemy book. Raine's already reading something. Colette stares blankly, just like Presea. Aurian seems to be napping. Piers has been reading for the past half a hour. The cart jolts, making Daichi cling to the frame.

"That's the half way mark." Zelos says. Aurian mutters.

"Do you have to make the marks lumps in the track?" Daichi says, still braced against the cart side.

"That's where one of the drawbridges is. It has to be a bump, otherwise it doesn't open right. That's what they've told me." Zelos shrugs.

"What's with you?" Genis asks, frowning over his book.

"I-I don't like moving fast on the ground..." He states. "It's not natural..." Aurian looks up, and looks like she might say something, but ends up frowning and leaning like she's asleep again. "..." Daichi sighs.

"...So you wouldn't like riding Noishe?" Lloyd tilts his head. He doesn't seem to get it.

"I guess that means that you're not going to be much fun if we go to Altamira." Zelos sighs.

Piers looks up. "Altamira?"

"Lezareno Headquarters, theme park, beach..." Zelos shrugs.

Daichi blinks. "Theme park?"

"Mmmhm!" Zelos crosses his arms behind his head. "Rollercoaster, spinning-cups, those throw-and-knock down games. Complete with mascots and cute hunnies!"

"Do you have to turn everything to women?" Piers notes.

"Always!" Zelos cheers. Lloyd and Genis stare at him with matching blank expressions.

"... I think he's on something." Genis mumbles.

"... We're in a cart-thing... so he is?" Lloyd doesn't get it.

"That's in, not on." Piers corrects

"On a seat, then." Lloyd frowns.

Genis sighs. "Not what I was talking about, Lloyd."

"... Oh." Lloyd mumbles, then decided to stare out at the ocean. Shikka is sitting as far away from the edge as possible.

Another hour or so of silence, and Lloyd's stomach growls. Lloyd blinks, and looks down, and his stomach is echoed by Genis's.

"Guess it's lunch time." Genis says, shutting the Alchemy book.

"So who's turn is it?" Piers asks, looking to Genis.

Genis looks at Lloyd, who hands the bag of name-chips over. "We'll need to make two more." Genis points out, shaking it about, and drawing Daichi's name.

"There is a slight problem with lunch." Raine says. "Unless we're all find with cold food."

"No complaints. is food." Lloyd says.

"I can make something good." Daichi assures, taking the bag of ingredients from Shikka's care.

"All right." Lloyd grins.

"... If you need fire..." Aurian mutters. "Can make fire..."

"No, no. That's fine." Daichi seems to want to show off his skills. And everyone shrugs and watches the scenery. Presea and Colette stare blankly about, but other than that...

Daichi makes some form of meat sandwich with a meat-based, gravy-like sauce. And everyone eats. Lloyd's carving away at two more little chips of wood, getting names in them.

"What type of meat is this? Tastes like beef." Piers comments.

"... Pork?" Lloyd says musingly. Everyone finishes.

"It was wolf." Daichi comments. Zelos stares in startled confusion, Raine blinks rapidly, and Aurian shrugs back up like she's going to sleep again.

"Thought so..."

"What? You liked it, didn't you?"

"Yeah." Lloyd nods. "Just a bit weird."

"It's not something we normally eat."

"Like buffalo." Aurian adds on.

"... what?"

"Yeah. Because Buffalo and Wolf are so similar." Piers comments.

Aurian blinks at him. "Tasted same to me."

"..." Everyone stares at her for a while.

"It has a similar texture." Piers admits.

"... okay. You're all crazy." Zelos looks back over the water.

"You're noticing this now?" Shikka comments.

"It's been cemented." Zelos says dryly.

"Quite." Shikka agrees.

There's handful of minutes of silence, before Zelos looks back at Shikka. "You're that 'strong silent type', aren't you."

"Some may say that, yes."

"... better than strong and overly loud mouth time." Zelos glances at Daichi.

Daichi catches the glance. "Oi!" He mumbles through a mouthful of Wolf Sammich.

"Whilst I may not agree with Sir Daichi's choice of language at times, it is often useful to have a member of a party that can argue back, Sir Zelos." Shikka points out.

"As if Lloyd over there isn't enough for back-talk." Zelos shrugs.

"You can shove it." Lloyd tells Zelos. Raine doesn't bother whacking him.

"And I can name a few places FOR you to shove it." Daichi follows on. Raine gives Daichi a look. Genis is smirking behind his book. Daichi flinches from the look. Shikka smiles slightly, as though this was proving a point. Zelos doesn't bother responding, a mildly serious look on his face and currently mixed colored eyes as he watches the ocean, and the light from the setting sun.

Another few hours, and the tram slows, and there's a green and white dog waiting for them.

Piers jumps out of the cart, pouncing the dog. "Noishe!" Lloyd does just about the same, Colette floating emptily along behind him. Aurian needed to be woken up, but they're all thrilled to be off their asses.

Daichi stretches, yawning, saying as much. "Man...I'm thrilled to be off my ass..." Raine gives him another look.

"Zelos! You've been drawn for dinner!" Lloyd yells over.

"What?" Piers is being licked to death by Noishe. After Lloyd calls out the name, he stops writhing and laughing to catch Daichi's glance.

"You get to cook dinner." Lloyd explains. "We all take random-draw."

"Why me?" Zelos whines.

"Because I drew your name." Lloyd repacked the bag, grinning. "Shikka and Genis have the cooking supplies, unless you brought some of your own." Shikka unshoulders the ingredients bag, looking towards Zelos.

"I don't want to cook." Zelos frowns.

"Then you don't want to eat." Lloyd grins.

"Whoever doesn't cook, doesn't eat. Apart from Raine. She's a special case." Piers explains.

Zelos stares at them all for a moment, before running a hand back through his hair and grimacing. "Fine, fine, you crazy bumpkins. I'll cook."

"I'm not a bumpkin." Shikka points out.

"Whatever." Zelos takes the bag and looks through it, muttering to himself. Lloyd looks smug. Piers walks up to Lloyd, winking at him, knowing the reason behind the sudden drawing of Zelos' name. Lloyd simply grins, then he looks about. Shikka wanders off for a bit.

"I wanna play with your hair." Lloyd plonked himself right next to Aurian. The elf blinked at him, sort of that deer-in-headlights look.

"... Why?" she asks.

"Because I wanna play with your hair." Lloyd says, as if that was all the reason he needed. It probably was, to him.

"... Why?" Piers looks up from his book, frowning. Daichi's busy cleaning his axe and Shikka is in lion form chewing...Something, having come back with it. Best not to ask what. Genis shakes his head, nose back into Piers' book. Raine's looking though the monster book, Colette's floating like a broken doll, Presea is sitting calmly, and Zelos blinks up from the stew-pot. Apparently, the noble can cook, for all he whined when his name came out of the bag after the bridge-ride.

"Because I wanna braid your hair." Lloyd repeats and explains.

"... Why?" Aurian doesn't get it, still.

"..." Piers sighs, sitting next to Genis to read. Daichi looks up, mouthing the words "braid her hair?" silently.

"Because I think Colette'd try to rip my head off if I tried, it'd be weird to try to braid Zelos's, and Raine's my teacher, and Genis'd fry me, and Peirs'd soak me, and Daichi doesn't have enough, and I really don't think Shikka'd let me, but he's a kitty right now, and Presea's... kinda scary." Lloyd raises a finger with each name, then grins at her. "So, I wanna braid yours." Shikka looks up at his name, purring lightly. Lloyd waves at him, then looks back at Aurian. Aurian blinks at him again.

"Why...?" Lloyd tilts his head, trying to think of something he hadn't explained yet.

"Cause braiding's fun?" Lloyd shrugs a little helplessly. Aurian sorta hunches up, but stares at him blankly.

"... Ok...?" Shikka blinks and goes back to the nomming. Lloyd beams, and sits behind her, and starts finger-combing her hair so it was easier to braid. The elf didn't really take too good of her hair, which Lloyd told her about, as he worked into braiding. What he couldn't see was how she looked uncomfortable with this.

Daichi knows that look on the elf's face. "Be careful, Lloyd."

"I'm good at not tugging." Lloyd says, more intent on the hair between his fingers than anything else. Aurian is sitting very still, and sort of just staring at the grass. One of Lloyd's mostly-done braids had trapped one of her ears, and it starts twitching to get out. "Oh. Sorry." Lloyd carefully shifts the braid so he could sort of pull her ear out of it. Aurian shivers. Daichi and Shikka both blink. Lloyd does too, and catches more hair that was hiding behind her ear. Aurian shivers again, and leans closer to Lloyd. "... Huh? Was I tugging?" Lloyd blinks again, but Aurian doesn't move back.

Shikka blink blinks. "I recognize that look." Lloyd finishes that braid and finds a bit of twine to fix it and moves on to the other side. And he runs into the same problem, and mutters a little about long ears making things harder. This time, when he carefully frees her ear, she makes a little purr noise and leans against him.

"...Uhh..."

Daichi blinks, remembering something. "Ooooooh." Lloyd blinks, but Aurian doesn't move again, and no one else is paying attention. So a little hesitantly, because the elf was acting weird, he got the hair out from behind one of her ears again. She definitely purred.

"... Uhhh..." Lloyd freezes awkwardly.

"She did that with me once. Started nuzzling my leg when my boot itched the back of her ears. Like a cat." Daichi said.

"... Uuhhh.. .Awkward?" Lloyd asks, still sort of just sitting there. After a moment, he went back to trying to braid. But her ears were twitching a bit now, and so his knuckles were brought into contact with the back of her ear, and she purred again. "..." Lloyd looks like he's revising his list of people to braid the hair of, and adding 'Aurian is weird'.

"It was." Daichi nods. Shikka pads over, settling next to Lloyd. Aurian's turned toward Lloyd now, which doesn't help him.

"Uh, Aurian, I can't braid with you facing this way." Lloyd protests, but she's just keeping up a steady purr as she presses her face to his shoulder. "... and this is reaallly awkward..." His voice was going up at the end. Daichi stands, pulling Aurian off by the collar and setting her beside Shikka. She sort of just sprawls there, looking very confused and her purr trailing off. Lloyd stares at her like he didn't realize she was that weird.

"Shikka, you were right." Lloyd comments, keeping the lion between him and the elf.

"I was?"

"You said that I could purr too, some time ago... and she was definitely purring." Aurian blinks a little like she's dazed.

Shikka blinks, "I did..."

"And she's not a kitty-person, so... yeah." Lloyd stared at her. "... Is she ok?" Aurian's sorta blinking blankly. Daichi nudges her. She purrs, and tries to lean for him.

Daichi backs off. "No, no. Not again." So she falls over. A couple of blinks later, and her eyes go wide and she curls into a ball.

"... I think that was a no..." Lloyd whispers. Daichi nudges her with his foot again. She gives a little depressed noise. "... I... am... gunna... find some sweets?" Lloyd says hesitantly, thinking, or trying to, of ways to fix this. Daichi pulls a small paper bag from his pocket, dropping it before the elf. In the bag are some sherbert lemons.

It takes her almost a minute to react to the bag. And when she does, it's for her arm to snake out and then the bag vanishes and she's curled about it.

"... okay..." Lloyd sort of watches. "... I'm gunna see if foods almost done..." He inches away. As does Daichi, leaving only Shikka there, still nomming on something.

* * *

with my measuring system, it would have taken them three days if the scale's the same...

But i can't think that it actually would, unless they went slowly... or soemthing.


	36. School

January 25th

* * *

Sybak is a walled city, and it actually seems to be more of a campus than a city. IT's all sort of tan colored with blue roofing. Presea stops a few steps in.

"I hate... this city..." Presea says. "Hurry... to Ozette..." There's a bit of shock, as Presea spoke on her own.

"I-I'm sorry, Presea." Genis seems to take it as a personal failure.

Daichi shivers. "This seems a little too bookish. I think I'm allergic to too much books." Piers looks at Daichi, head tilting in a 'wait, wat.' moment. Raine looks a little thrilled, a little reserved, and a little nervous. Aurian looks half asleep.

"Wait just a minute, little one." Zelos says to Presea. "We'll be done in a jiffy." He glances over at Lloyd. "Right Lloyd?"

"Yeah..." Lloyd looks at Presea rather than staring at Sybak. "I'm sorry."

"Did you just use the word 'jiffy?'" Piers states, looking insulted at the misuse of language.

"Yeah, so?" Zelos asks, looking back over his shoulder. "We want the research area, so this way." He waves them to follow him.

"The language that spews from your maw is an insult to linguists everywhere."

"That's wonderful, puddle." Zelos waves back at him. Piers looks as though he's about to show Zelos the true meaning of puddle, when Daichi puts a hand on his shoulder. Zelos leads them to the entrance of the largest building, and opens the door.

"... bad proportions." Aurian mumbles, as the rest of the Sylvaranti stare about. The target of her comment was a large dragon skeleton that was wired together before them in the large double story room.

"...This is nice." Piers states.

"It's too university-like..." Daichi grumbles.

Zelos stops someone by shouting at them. "Yo!" The blonde man in a long white coat that almost looks like a robe stops, blinking. "There should be word from Meltokio."

"Ah, Chosen One!" Zelos is very distinctive. "We've been waiting for you. Please come this way." the man opens a door to the hall way and holds it open. Piers looks around, slightly awed. Students in blue hurry about, amid paper carrying adults in the same sort of white coats. A good many are muttering to themselves as they walk. The researcher they've claimed opens another door for them. This room has a desk, a techy looking indent on it, and is mostly covered by books. Piers looks itching to run to the shelves. Daichi is just staring dully ahead, as quiet as Shikka for once.

"Upon receiving the report of Colette's symptoms, we found our attention on research data regarding the Chosen's Cruxis Crystal." The researcher says after Raine shuts the door behind Colette.

"Well now. So my crystal was useful." There's a mix of sarcasm and smugness to Zelos' tone. "When Colette returns to normal, I'll need to make sure she thanks me generously?"

Piers looks slightly horrified at this. "E-Excuse me!" He splutters. Raine steps on Zelos' foot, grinding her staff into the other. The researcher misses this, despite the muffled yelp from Zelos, and activates a hologram. It's a white-blue color, and looks rather like an Exsphere without a base or being attached to anything.

"Cruxis Crystals are thought to be evolved forms of Exspheres. Both Exspheres and Cruxis Crystals are lifeless beings." he explains. Aurian goes paler.

"What did you say?" Raine forgot hurting Zelos in shock.

Daichi growls slightly. "Did you really just say 'Exspheres are lifeless beings?'"

"Life...less?" Lloyd frowns, as if trying to figure it out. "What?"

"Yes, I did." the researcher says.

"Exspheres are souls! They're still living." Daichi replies.

"Says the one who helped make them." Aurian mutters.

"Ignoring them. Lifeless beings. How should I put it?" Raine tapped her chin. "Basically, Exspheres are alive, though not in the same way we are."

"Damn right they're alive..." Daichi mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck where his own was located.

"Yes. Both of these crystals are like parasites fusing with other life forms." The researcher agrees.

"I don't like your choice of adjectives." Piers comments darkly.

"Parasites..." Lloyd makes a face. "hmm...That's not a very pleasant thought."

"The Cruxis Crystals I agree with..." Piers states. "But I wouldn't say that's true for all Exspheres. Especially when the wearer chooses."

the researcher gives him a look that says 'wait until i'm done talking to make judgments' "When this happens, the Mana within the body loses balance and goes out of control without a Key Crest."

"Mana system becomes dependant on Exsphere for help. Remove, and..." Aurian shudders.

"So that's why Exspheres without Key Crests turn people into monsters." Genis mutters. Piers goes silent and contemplative.

"Exactly. In other words, since Cruxis Crystals possess the same qualities as Exspheres, we surmise that Colette is suffering from a parasitical infection by the Cruxis Crystal." The researcher indicates blankly floating Colette.

"I see. In which case, the ritual of releasing the seals may be promoting the fusion with the Cruxis Crystal." Raine mutters. "Fascinating..."

Zelos opens his mouth. "So, in order to reverse it, Colette needs a Key Crest?" Piers comments.

Daichi shivers, looking at Raine. "This is kinda a dark tone you're assuming, Raine."

Zelos shuts his mouth. "Was about to say that." he mutters.

"Professor, don't talk like that after all the bad things that keep happening to Colette..." Lloyd rubs his head.

"Yes, she should be able to freely control the Cruxis Crystal if she had a Key Crest." the researcher agrees with Piers.

Piers looks at Lloyd. "You made a Key Crest for Marble in Iselia, right?"

"Genis is using it." Lloyd says. "If we can find Inhibitor Ore, already processed, I can make another... If we find a Key crest as is, I can make sure it's good before we use it."

"Where do we find Inhibitor Ore?" Daichi asks.

"With dwarves." Lloyd scratches the back of his head. "We'd probably have better luck finding a used Key Crest."

"Right...And we don't know where to find one, unless someone gives us one." Piers comments.

"There's a junk shop in the corner by the library." Zelos shrugs. "There might be something there."

"That's a good idea." Piers says, his voice boarding on astonished.

Zelos pretends to not have heard that tone with which he said that. "Thank you, I know."

Lloyd's expression flat lines and he lightly shoves Zelos' shoulder. "Show me the way."

"Right, right." The rest of the party follow listlessly after Lloyd and Zelos. Raine spots something while Zelos announces that this store's only got junk, which he did say it was a junk shop.

"It's marvelous! This is just marvelous! Ohhh, this is ancient magitechnology carbon!" Raine squees. Aurian stares at her blankly.

"... There she goes again." Genis sighs, then climbs up Daichi with some minor difficulty to his shoulders.

"...What in Niflheim are you doing?" Daichi comments, looking up.

"I'm tired of walking." Genis says.

"Argh, come on, please!" Lloyd rubs at his head furiously, before setting to shifting things in a box. "Look for something that looks like a Key Crest."

"Fine." Daichi grumbles starting to search. "You know the rule. No treating me like a horse."

"I know." Genis says.

"There!" Lloyd pulls out a piece of metal, some other things, broken tools and the like, clinging to his glove. "It's a Key Crest!"

"How coincidental." Piers mutters.

"Coin-send-tail...?" Lloyd frowns, thinking hard.

"Forget it..." Piers says. "...Baka..."

"What?" the man in the little stall blinks at Lloyd, while he frowns at Piers. "You want this piece of junk?"

Lloyd blinks, forgetting Piers. "Yeah! How much?" Piers gets interested in a book.

"Hmm... Let's see." The man tilts his head to the side, watching them. "ten thousand Gald."

"... taking advantage of people in need..." Lloyd grumbles.

"This is a business, after all."

Zelos sighs. "Okay, call the one responsible for this bazaar right now. I'll make sure he can't do business anymore." Piers looks up from the book, interested.

"Wh-who are you?" the man blinks at Zelos.

"You've got some guts to be ignorant of the great Zelos, the Chosen." Zelos says.

The man blinks, and apparently rumor clicks with Zelos' appearance. "Chosen? Please, take this junk...Uh, I mean, I humbly offer this up to you, so please forgive me!" He shoves Lloyd's hand back to his side so that it's clear which 'junk' he'd been talking about.

"Wow. Mr. Flirt-face is useful for something after all." Piers mutters. Zelos pretends not to have heard that.

"Good, good." He's smiling. "I like your attitude. I'll remember you." the stall keeper laughs nervously, and they amoeba back to the center of the circle courtyard.

"Thanks, Zelos." Lloyd says, looking at the Key Crest. Daichi still has Genis on his shoulders.

"It was nothing. It was for my cute Colette." Zelos smiles. Lloyd's too interested in the key crest to flat line out of irritation.

"I need to repair it." Lloyd says, rather like he hadn't heard Zelos talking. "I'll borrow a lab at the Academy and fix it."

Genis blinks from atop Daichi. "I haven't seen Lloyd this excited since the last time we had steak for dinner." He comments. Lloyd doesn't seem to hear this either, already pulling his gloves off and feeling about the crest, walking back for the Imperial Research Academy. Zelos shrugs and follows him. The others follow, zombie-like.

"Hey, sorry to bother you." Lloyd stopped the researcher from before. "Could I borrow a lab?" the man blinks at Lloyd for a moment.

"He wants to make a key crest." Zelos explains for him.

"O-oh, Chosen One! Please, make use of that room you were in earlier." The man says, nodding toward the door.

Lloyd grins. "thanks." and heads over to it. "You guys go ahead and wait at the inn, or something."

Daichi salutes over-enthusiastically and says in the same tone. "Yes, sir. Master Irving." It sounds insulting.

"K, thanks." Lloyd waves at him, sitting on the floor and pulling out tools.

Raine shakes her head. "Come on."

"..." Daichi sighs. "Am I losing my touch?"

"Yep." Genis comments.

"Shut up, runt." Genis eyes Daichi's head.

"Let's go." Raine says, leading the way out. Zelos looks pleased to follow Raine back to the inn, which is the first building upon entering Sybak. Daichi lags behind everyone else. Genis sticks a spit-wet finger into Daichi's ear. Daichi acks and starts flailing. Genis manages to jump off Daichi and land on his feet. Laughing, he catches up with the rest of the group. Daichi scrubs at his ear.

"You're dead, shorty!" He yells after.

* * *

January 26th

* * *

They get rooms, and it's at three or so in the morning that the door opens to the male-over-half of the party's room. Daichi snrks, blinking awake in the light.

"Mm?" Something tells that the half-elf wasn't really asleep. Lloyd shuts the door with his heel and flops onto the nearest bed. Zelos shoves him off in his sleep. Lloyd grunts, and finds the nearest empty bed. Daichi blinks. "Lloyd?"

"Ngg." Lloyd groans, face in pillow.

"..." Daichi flops back. There's twin small thumps, and then a light clatter, as Lloyd shoves his boots off, then takes more care with his swords. a slight rustling, and then silence. Daichi sighs, drifting back into sleep himself.

"There you are, Lloyd." Genis waves at him when he zombies down to breakfast the next morning. Lloyd makes a very articulate noise in reply, almost not getting his chair and then clutching at the cup of coffee. Daichi follows in a likewise zombie state. It looks like he hasn't slept at all. Aurian's zombie state seems to be from too good of sleep she doesn't want to leave. This is added on to the way she falls asleep at the table. Genis sighs. "Jeez, isn't anyone other than me a morning person?"

"I am." Piers and Shikka state in unison. Lloyd mumbles something into his cup. Zelos comes down with wet hair.

"I had a dream your dog tried getting in my bed." Zelos tells Lloyd.

"Ngggggnnn." Lloyd makes the zombie 'do not bother' noise at him. Zelos blinks.

"That was Lloyd." Daichi says, clutching his own coffee mug, yawning, a lot more coherent than Lloyd.

"..." Lloyd and Zelos stare at each other, although Lloyd was only doing so because Zelos was and Zelos was looking some mixed expression.

"Guess I know which bed he usually takes." Zelos helps himself to the breakfast that Genis was still making.

"Only cause its the easiest to roll into." Piers comments. It looks as though he's went back to the junk store and bought that book he was reading.

"Was'at?" Lloyd mumbles coherently.

"Erotica." Piers states simply. Lloyd blinks in incomprehension, while Zelos raises an eyebrow. Daichi perks up, looking at Piers. Piers looks to Lloyd. "I'm not explaining it to you."

"Why not?" Lloyd lets go of his coffee mug for long enough that it gets hijacked by Aurian.

"Because Raine'll hit me."

Daichi looks under at the cover. "Icha Icha?"

"I've heard of that one." Zelos nods. Aurian's now on the other end of the table from Lloyd. Lloyd blinks confusedly, at a loss for the loss of his coffee cup. Piers merely hands him a new one. And that made everything right again in Lloyd's world. In another moment, he has his back. Aurian has decided she didn't like coffee. And Daichi steals the spare. Raine comes down, Presea and Colette following absently. It looks like Colette's hair has been washed, but she's still standing blankly a few inches off the ground. Genis passes out food to those who hadn't raided while he was cooking. Piers puts his book away before Raine can glimpse it, taking his food. Raine waits until Lloyd actually is awake before asking the question that was likely on everyone's minds.

"Did you finish the key crest?"

Lloyd blinks, and chews before answering. "Yeah."

Daichi adjusts his glasses. "I hope it works."

Lloyd nods, nomming. ". . . . I think I left something in the research place."

"...Daaamn!" Daichi whines.

Piers looks at him. "What's the matter with you?"

"Caffeine doesn't work on me anymore!"

"... okay?" Lloyd blinks.

"... Maybe we can get someone to have a look at him." Raine says.

"Hey, stop talking about me as though I'm crazy." Everyone looks at him.

"I think everyone here has an acute percentage of psychosis." Piers points out.

"Psychosis...?" Lloyd frowns.

"Crazyness." Piers corrects automatically.

"... I don't think I'm crazy..." Lloyd mumbles, eating again.

"...Meh." Piers is reading under the table.

"So, after breakfast we can go look, and fix Colette." Genis grins. He's excited.

"And get Daichi looked at." Piers adds.

"Oi! I don't need some quack looking at me!" Theres some thought from the Sylvaranti.

"It might be better to wait until we've cured Colette." Raine says. "We don't know if she can get worse while we wait." Lloyd inhales the last of his food.

"Then I'll head over now." He puts his dishes away and does so. Everyone follows after helping clear up. Lloyd's bouncing on his heels in one corner of the atrium place. He's got a vaguely familiar necklace in hand.

"I didn't think I'd be giving you your birthday present like this. I've attached a Key Crest to your necklace. It's late, but it's my present for you..." Lloyd puts it on Colette.

"...Colette? Can you hear me?" Lloyd's got that note of hope that he's aware might come to pieces as he steps back after putting the Key Crest Necklace about her neck. Colette stares at him blankly with crimson eyes. Piers stands next to Lloyd, hopeful also. "Colette?" Lloyd asks again. She doesn't respond, staring blankly ahead.

"... How is it?" Genis asks.

"... It doesn't seem to work..." Lloyd says, depressed.

Piers sighs. "Why won't it work...?"

"How about asking Dirk for help?" Raine says, frowning. "Lloyd might not know what to carve for Cruxis Crystals."

".. But Dirk's in Sylvarant." Genis points out. "and the Rheairds are out of fuel..."

"...There's gotta be dwarves in Tethe'Alla, right?" Daichi asks.

"There's only Dirk in Sylvarant..." Raine muses. "Who knows if there are any in Tethe'Alla."

"We know where Dirk is. and it would take a lot of time to search out if there's any in Tethe'Alla." Genis points out.

"Maybe the people here at the Academy know of a way to refuel the Rheairds... which are still on top of that mountain." Lloyd rubs his head.

"We hope..." Piers mumbles.

"Hey, hey, hey! Wait just a moment!" Zelos interrupts their plotting. "Aren't you forgetting something? I'm here to keep tabs on you! I can let you go back to Sylvarant!"

Piers rounds on Zelos. "You gonna stop us?" Zelos opens his mouth to reply to that, but Lloyd grins something that looks rather like one of Zelos's smirks, and slings an arm around Zelos's shoulders.

"Well then, just come along with us, oh compassionate Chosen One." Lloyd says, grinning.

".. What?" Zelos looks at him like he thinks he's crazy. "Are you serious?" he gets Lloyd's arm off him.

"Why are you stalking us, then?" Daichi asks.

"Because the king told me to." Zelos twirls some of his hair about his fingers. "I'm to make sure you don't do anything that endangers Tethe'Alla." he says it quoting like. "and going back to Sylvarant counts as that."

"...How does that count?" Shikka asks.

"Look, furball, if you go back to Sylvarant, you can complete the journey. that'd make Tethe'Alla loose it's prosperity. That's what the King and Pope don't want." Zelos says.

"...Furball that can rip your throat out..." Shikka mutters.

"... You're kind to girls, right?" Raine asks, tilting her head.

"Yeah, it's to save Colette." Genis has caught on, and is smirking. "You'll keep quiet about it for her, right?"

"If you want to see her smile... getting her back to normal would get one." Aurian points out hesitantly. Zelos looks them over, crosses his arms like he's thinking hard, and sighs.

"..Great, how am I supposed to snitch after hearing that?" Zelos mutters.

"You're not supposed to." Piers says, arm around Zelos' shoulders. Zelos mutters something unflattering, getting Piers' arm off.

"Okay, then all we need now is fuel." Lloyd's grinning again. Suddenly, from the entrance and the halls, come green armored Papal Knights. they surround the party, corraling them with halberds.

"Chosen. We heard what you said just now." One Knight, with a little more decoration to his armor, says. "We hereby declare you and your companions to be traitors attempting to destroy Tethe'Alla."

"... humph." Zelos snorts, twirling his hair again. "Well that was perfect timing, Mr. Papal Knight." Zelos doesn't seem to get along with them.

"...We're quite popular." Shikka comments

"By the Pope's orders. We were to watch you for suspicions of plotting against the throne." the knight says.

"..Heh, now that's amusing. I'm the one who's plotting against the throne?" Zelos asks, smirking.

"Restrain them and take a sample." the knight orders, as more knights show up with little machines. "Don't touch the angel. if you approach her carelessly, she'll kill you." Daichi struggles slightly but submits eventually. Piers and Shikka don't react. Lloyd yelps, one Knight jabbing him in the arm with a machine after they cuffed the lot of them.

"Ow! What the hell?"

Zelos only gets cuffs. "Criminals undergo biological tests during arrest." Zelos explains. "It's because of the Caste System here." Everyone's but Colette's getting poked with the machines after being cuffed. Daichi grunts in slight pain. Shikka flinches slighlty and Piers yelps also. the sages are silent, Presea is as much as a zombie Colette for all she reacts, and Aurian's trembling-quiet. The knight who poked Piers looks at the machine.

"Must be broke-" it blows up. "What the hell?"

"What's wrong?"

"He doesn't have Mana."

"I do!" Piers protests.

"Try again." He's poked again.

"There's no readings- shit!" it blows up again.

"...Dude, your technology fails." Piers grumbles.

"Then he's not half-elven. Keep him with the humans."

"Fuck!" The man who poked Shikka swears as his machine does absolutely nothing.

"what now...?"

"..." Shikka doesn't respond.

"No Mana signature again."

"Try again." the knight with the fancy armor sounds like he's having a bad day.

"Elf!" the one with the machine to Aurian yelps.

"What?"

"She's an elf! Full blooded Elf!"

"Shit!"

"These guys like swearing, don't they?" Daichi points out. Raine looks pissed.

"For holy knights, yeah.." Lloyds looking amused.

"Shut up!"

"What's she doing out of the Ymir!" Aurian looks confused at the lot of them, her ears trembling as they undid her cuffs.

"Still nothing." the one next to Shikka announces.

"... Keep him with the humans."

"It's because some half elves don't look any different from humans." Zelos continues. "It's necessary to detect them."

Daichi looks slightly nervous. "What do they do with half-elves?" Zelos's answer is cut off by the knights by the Sages and Daichi.

"S...Sir! We've got a match!"

"Same with these two!"

Lloyd looks startled. "Genis! Professor!"

"So you're half-elves?" Fancy Knight asks, as the Sages are herded closer to Daichi.

".. Half-elves?" Zelos looks a little stunned too. "..Is that true?" Raine and Genis were looking down but Raine looks up.

"That's right." she says firmly. Piers looks away, knowing Genis and Raine were half. Daichi obviously knows.

"Raine!" Genis protests, looking worried.

"There's no point trying to hide it now..." Raine shrugs. Aurian just looks like she's scared of everything that's happening, even if the knights were completely ignoring her.

"These pathetic half-elves have engaged in shameless caste deception." the fancy knight says it like it's a death sentence.

"What did you say?" Lloyd's angry at the knight, to Genis's surprise.

Daichi growls. "Pathetic! Unshackle me and say that again!"

"They're much better people than you!" Lloyd's getting himself restrained by a knight now. "Who cares if they're half elves!" Genis looks like he's going to break into tears.

"I don't know what it's like in your world, but over here, Half-elves are at the bottom of the caste system." Zelos says, shrugging.

"Half-elves guilty of crimes are all executed without exception." the knight says.

"...Just because we mentioned a word?" Daichi growls.

"More likely because the pope wants me dead, and you're here with me." Zelos says cheerfully.

"That's insane!" one of the knights bashes Lloyd in the gut, and he stops trying to get his hands about the knight.

"Take them away!" the knight says, indicating the Half-elves.

"No! Don't take them!" Aurian's frantic looking, her ears trembling as she clutches the hem of her shirt, almost crying. Raine blinks, looking startled for a moment, before she gets that 'I've got a plan' look, and cries out.

"Don't take us from mother!" Raine cries, startling the knights into letting her make her way to Aurian. Lloyd has a 'what the fuck' expression on, while Genis takes his sister's initiative and wriggles over to Aurian.

"No! I need to look after my sister!" Daichi motions towards Aurian. Lloyd's sort of staring at the lot of them like he just realized how insane they all are.

"She's sick!" Raine catches on, clinging to the elf.

"She needs us." Genis wails. Zelos looks like someone's smacked him upside the head with a fish. Aurian doesn't get what they're going on about, but she clings to Genis and Raine. the knights are obviously giving each other 'what do we do now' looks.

"Please!" Daichi says, pleading and making it look convincing. the knight holding onto him lets him over to Aurian, who's beginning to spark with distress.

"... We can't send them back to the Ymir." one knight mutters. "They'll just kick the half-breeds back out."

"We don't have the manpower to go with them, either."

"... Lock the Chosen and the others in the basement." one knight says. "we can come back for them." the Sages and Daichi are still cuffed. Daichi runs over to Aurian. Piers is covering his face, and Shikka's smiling a little. the knights are trying to either get the half-elves away from her, but her sparks get more frantic whenever one gets close, so they end up just keeping them in the corner.

"... Right." Lloyd, Piers, Shikka, Presea and Zelos are shoved toward the hall down, while Colette stalks Lloyd unaided.

Piers is shoved down the hall. "Watch it!" they go down a hall, past researchers peeking at them around almost closed doors, down into the basement. Quite literally a basement. with grey stone and large iron door. Lloyd's scowling the entire time as a Papal Knight unlocks the door and herds them in.

"...Who's there?" a green haired woman looks startled as they're herded in.

"Don't speak to us, Half-elf. Be quiet and continue your work." A knight says.

A researcher had come down with them. "They're criminals. Hold them here until we return for them." Lloyd's glaring sullenly at the man and the knights as they shove them all in, and then shut the door.

"Criminals..." the woman says, looking at them. "If you had the good fortune of being born human, don't throw it away like that." There's about half a dozen people in the dank room.

"We're not criminals." Piers points out.

"We haven't _done _anything." Lloyd mutters, clearing a bench with his knee and sits, pulling out little strips of wire from his gloves.

"Well, you did try to go back to Sylvarant." Zelos is just sort of standing there like he was perfectly at home. Piers struggles to free himself by trying to cast something akin to a mini explosion. There are clanking footsteps from outside, and Lloyd hides his lock picks as a knight puts Aurian down inside.

"What did you do?" Lloyd demands, getting to his feet angrily.

"the half-elves hit her over the head and fled." the knight says.

"Liar!" Lloyd shouts. Piers hands crackle with raw alchemy.

"They would never...!" He attempts to jump the Papal Knight, but someone grabs him from behind.

"Don't be stupid." it's one of the researchers, a man with messy dark red hair that goes down to his mid back. the knight sniffs, and leaves, shutting the door and locking it again. Lloyd darts over to Aurian. She's out of it, due to a bloody spot in her hair likely.

"L-Let me go! I need to check my friend!" Piers struggles. the researcher lets him go, and backs off. a blond boy not much younger than Lloyd sort of ... bounces over cheerily to Lloyd.

"You're from Sylvarant?" Piers runs over to Aurian, starting to check. She's more or less out of it, less by the way she's twitching.

"Yeah." Lloyd says, blinking at the boy in the white coat.

"You have the summon spirits of water, wind, light and fire there. Have you seen them?" the boy says eagerly while Lloyd pulls out his picks again, working on the handcuffs. Piers concentrates, casting Ply. Shikka merely snaps the handcuffs.

"Human craftsmanship. Same on any world." He comments. Lloyd gets his hands free, then goes and helps Zelos.

"I've seen Undine." Lloyd admits.

"What's it like?" the boy follows him.

"... Why?"

"It's for my research." the boy says.

"... Aster, he's busy." the man who had stopped Piers tells the boy. Piers does what he can, sighing. He then looks to Aster.

"Aren't you human?" He asks.

"Yes. Is that a problem?" Aster asks, tilting his head to one side.

"He's my research partner." the man says, looking a bit fondly at the boy as he shifts his battered glasses. Aurian mutters, holding her head.

Piers kneels by her. "You okay?"

"My head hurts." she mumbles.

"With a bruise like that one, you'd have to have a head harder than Lloyd here to not be hurting." Zelos points out, then smirks. "I didn't know you had it in you, Ms Elf."

"They're not really related." Shikka says, before pausing. He then looks to Aurian. "Are they?"

"No. They can't be." Aurian mumbles a little depressed like. Lloyd removes Presea's cuffs, before telling Aster about the summon of water.

"What about me?" Piers asks, shaking his manacled arms. Lloyd blinks and fixes that problem.

"Oh?" Zelos asks.

"Can't be." Aurian repeats. "Can't." Zelos makes a comment involving that it's because of the males she's slept with, and she gives him this really bland look, before pulling up her shirt a bit. There's a nasty scar all the way across her waist. Zelos pales. "Can't." she repeats, dropping her shirt. Piers and Shikka both wince. Aurian moves back, looking gloomy.

"Great. now you've made her sad." Lloyd punches Zelos on the shoulder.

"Get... away.." Presea says suddenly.

"... Presea?" the green haired woman had gone up to the red haired man and Aster, and Presea had turned around. Piers gets to his feet. "You're Presea!" the green haired woman is startled. "Why are you here?"

"... You know Presea?" Lloyd asks while fishing in his pockets to see if he had any sweets on him to try to cheer Aurian back up.

"Ah...I.." the woman withdraws again. "she's..."

"A half-elf in the Imperial Research Academy is acquainted with a human child?" Zelos butts in. "That's strange." Piers hands Aurian some chocolate he has. It does cheer her up.

"Why." Lloyd asks of Zelos.

"I told you, half-elves are treated like garbage in this world. The half-elves that work at the Imperial Research Academy never leave their labs…ever." Zelos says, shrugging.

"That's horrible." Piers says.

"That's humans." Shikka says.

"That's insane." Lloyd says.

"Let's put that aside for now." Zelos waves a hand. "How does a half-elf that can never leave here know Presea?"

"... this child is my team's research sample." the woman says softly.

"...Research sample?" Piers asks.

"What kind of research." Lloyd's frowning.

"Research to manufacture Cruxis Crystals inside the human body." she's staring at the ground.

"... You can make Cruxis Crystals?" Lloyd's shocked.

"Yes. theoretically, they are no different than Exspheres. By allowing them to slowly feed on a human body-"

"wh..what?" Lloyd stares at her.

"You're harvesting Exspheres? Like the Desians?" Piers says, incrediously.

"No. Presea was the only one compatible for the project. We've made no more than what Presea is .. growing."

"that's what the Desians do to make Exspheres!" Lloyd's getting angry.

"What? what are you talking about?"

"we haven't had Desians in 800 years, kid." Zelos points out.

"This group of evil people grow Exspheres out of humans. The process kills them or turns them to a monster." Piers explains.

"Usually in conditions that make you retch." Aurian mumbles.

"I'm saying, how can you treat people that way?" Lloyd shouts.

"...I could ask you the exact same thing." the researcher says. "How can you humans treat half-elves the way you do?"

"I treat them the same as everyone else!" Lloyd snaps. "There's no difference between the lives of humans and half-elves!"

"We're one of the examples of humans that don't discriminate." Piers says.

"and an elf." Zelos points out Aurian.

".. they aren't from Tethe'Alla." Sheena says. Corrine suddenly appears, and runs up to try to get Aurian out of her returning bad mood, while Sheena appears in a cloud of smoke. "He's a strange one, raised in Sylvarant with half-elves and a dwarf." Sheena indicates Lloyd.

"Sheena!" Lloyd grins.

"Sheena!" Piers seems just as happy to see the ninja.

"How did you know we.."

Sheena cuts Lloyd off. "I'll explain later. Genis, Raine and Daichi are being taken to Meltokio. If we go after them now, we should be able to save them!"

"Daichi's probably making things worse by insulting the guards continually." Piers says, nodding.

"Are you planning to run away?" the green haired researcher asks.

"Are you going to try to stop us?" Sheena asks, putting her hand on her hip.

"he's going to save his half-elf best friend." Zelos points out. "What are you going to do, Miss Half-Elf?"

"He's probably sapping their morale away second by second." Piers continues, causing Lloyd to smirk.

"I.. I won't let you trick me. There's no way a human would save a half-elf." the researcher stares at the ground.

"... But Kate, I did hear they arrested three half-elves up above." one of the other half-elves says.

"..." Kate stares at the ground.

"There's no time. If you're going to get in our way, we'll just have to.. tie you up or something." Lloyd says, frowning at her.

"Or I could put them to sleep." Piers offers.

"Tying them up makes it look like they resisted rather than took a nap on the job." Zelos points out. "It'd be better for them."

"... Fine." Kate sighs. "I'll let you go if you promise that once you've saved your half-elf friends, you will come back here. If what you've said is true... I'll release Presea from her experiment."

".. You promise?" Lloyd looks excited at the prospect.

"I swear upon the name of the Goddess Martel." Kate says.

"Okay." Lloyd hides a twitch.

"Then.. Come over here. There's a hidden passage." Kate messes with the bookshelf, and one moves aside, showing stairs. "You can escape to the surface through the door."

"thanks!" Lloyd hurries in, Aurian following with Presea and Colette. Piers and Shikka follow.

"By whose order was Presea's experiment being carried out?" Zelos asks.

"I.. can't say." Kate mutters.

"The Pope, then." Zelos says cheerily.

"..." Kate doesn't say anything.

"Zelos! Come on!" Lloyd shouts back.

"I know, I know!" Zelos shouts, catching up. "Sheesh..." their escape route connects to the sewers, and they pop out of a manhole near the entrance to the Academy.

"I hate sewers." Piers grumbles.

* * *

January 28th

* * *

It takes them a full day, involving an awful lot of running to make it to the bridge, and the noon of the next day to actually see the Papal Knights and the half-elves. They can hear a steady stream of insults come from Daichi.

"Knew it."

"Damn!" the drawbridge is rising. "They're trying to cut us off!" Lloyd's barely out of breath. "Come on, we'll have to jump it!"

"What!" Zelos gets closer. "Wait! Time out! Are you nuts? We'll die if we fall from here!"

"Lloyd _is_ insane. Please tell me you aren't this slow." Piers says.

"And if we abandon them, they'll die!" Lloyd snaps, putting on a new burst of speed.

"... Let us continue our pursuit." Presea says, following Lloyd.

"Man..." Zelos groans, but speeds up. They make it to their side of the drawbridge, and jump. Lloyd, Presea, Zelos and Sheena flail and jump short. Colette is flying, and so she arcs neatly over the gap. Aurian must have done something with Magic, because she shoots forward and grabs onto the edge, scrambling to get over the edge. The rest plummet, screaming.

"Undine! HELP!" Sheena screams. Undine appears and makes a geyser catch them and not kill them. Aurian's rolling down the other side of the draw bridge while Undine lowers them. Colette lands neatly.

"... Safe landing due to an unknown force." Presea announces. "No damage detected."

"..Phew... I thought I was going to die." Zelos says.

"Thanks, Sheena!" Lloyd grins.

"Yeah, and thanks Undine." Piers says. Undine nods, and vanishes.

"I'm sure glad I was able to summon her..." Sheena says.

"Excuse me, but Professor Sage, Genis and Daichi are..." Presea stands and moves forward. They can still hear Daichi's vehement insulting.

"That's right, we have to save them!" Lloyd blinks. Sheena's helping Aurian up, who's dizzy and unsteady.

"Save who from whom?" Piers asks.

"... Good question." They've caught up to the Papal knights, who looked really, really harassed despite being in helms and what not. Raine and Genis look like they're trying not to laugh.

Daichi finishes. "...And you should be boiled alive! Hey Lloyd."

"Hi Daichi!" Lloyd says.

"Take them!" the papal knights groan.

"Just take them and leave us alone to DIE D:" Daichi smirks.

"You've been busy." Sheena says. the papal knights sort of runoff.

"It just came naturally." He shrugs.

"Lloyd! Everyone!" Genis still looks surprised.

"...You came to rescue us." Raine also sounds a bit surprised.

"Of course!" Lloyd's ecstatic. "You're our friends!"

"But... We're half-elves." Genis says, looking at his feet.

"Soooo... what's your point?" Lloyd scratches behind an ear.

"Lloyd!" Genis is happily surprised. He glomps him.

"... What about the Tethe'Alla part of our group? Do you mind if we join up with you?" Raine asks.

"I'm from Mizuho... We're not exactly mainstream either. We're not that different." Sheena says. A random beam of light shows up, and strange heavenly music starts up. Kratos appears before them.

"I don't care either." Due to the strange manner of his appearance, no one commented. the music starts back up and Kratos ascends.

"... what the hell." Piers says.

"Okay... Were we drugged in Sybak?" Daichi mutters.

"That makes more sense than he actually being here." Sheena mutters.

"To tell you the truth, I can't say I'm really kosher with this." Zelos shrugs. "Then again, people have always treated me differently, saying that I'm the Descendent of Angels. So in a way, we're a lot alike."

"I... just want to go home." Presea drones.

"Aurian?" Raine asks.

"... I still don't get what happened in Sybak." the elf mutters.

"..."

"By the way, why is Sheena here?" Genis asks.

"...I have orders from my chief. I'm supposed to 'observe your activities'." Sheena says, shrugging.

"That's typical of Mizuho. They're trying to decide if they should side with the King or you guys." Zelos explains. Daichi looks very smug with himself.

"So now we have two people keeping tabs on us." Genis grumbles.

"But I'm not trying to do anything or get in your way or anything!" The unspoken words are 'and Zelos might'. "So...so..." Sheena looks flustered.

"We know that already. You're an honest person...perhaps to a fault." Raine soothes her.

"Sheena is one person I don't mind spying on us." Shikka says solemnly.

Lloyd scratches the back of his head. "At this point, I'm okay with anything. Now we just need Sheena to form a pact with Volt and we can get those Rheairds working!"

"Volt?" Sheena recoils.

"Well, you can't expect me to do it. I conduct electricity much better than you." Piers comments.

"...Sheena?" Presea asks. Sheena blinks at them as they sort of stare curiously worried at her, although Zelos doesn't so much after a second.

"Ah... nothing..." She either calms quickly or hides what could be panic. Daichi stares at Sheena, as though he can sense something. Sheena takes a moment then stares at him back, the sort of stare that says 'say anything, and you won't be able to have children'. Those sort of looks remind people that she is a ninja.

"Then shouldn't we go get the Rheairds first? Either way, Volt's temple is on the other side of the Grand Tethe'Alla Bridge. It'll be faster if we pick up the Rheairds, since the bridge is closed off right now." Zelos says, smirking.

"So it's quicker to go in the opposite direction?" Piers states, a bit confused.

"Of course!" Zelos cheers.

"Pick up?" Lloyd finds another problem with Zelos' suggestion. "How are you planning on moving those things?"

Piers gives Zelos a look. "You worry me."

"I don't care if dude's worry about me." Zelos waves him off, before glancing at Lloyd. "Just leave that to me! I prepared a secret weapon just in case something like this happened."

"No. I don't worry ABOUT you. I worry about my sanity when about you."

"Again, I could care less." Zelos says.

"... What secret weapon?" Genis asks warily.

"It wouldn't be any fun if I spoiled the surprise! Now let's get going!" Zelos cheers. "To the Fooji Mountains!"

Daichi stares at Zelos. "Can I kill him now?" He looks kinda like a cat. And Zelos is the mouse.

"No." Raine rubs her temples. Zelos starts walking toward the mountain range.

"I can't believe we're going to have to climb that mountain again..." Lloyd grumbles. Daichi looks disappointed. Piers agrees with Lloyd.


	37. Angels, Angels

January 30th

* * *

"So monsters really are everywhere." Zelos notes, looking about as they get most of the way up the mountain.

"But the regeneration Ritual isn't complete." Sheena mutters. "So why..."

Daichi shrugs. "Maybe the balance isn't right or something."

"If it's not the Mana, then it might be work of The Cruxis." Raine says.

"To try and hurt Colette?" Lloyd immediately jumps to that conclusion. Not that any of the monsters have gotten close enough to the angel to attempt - if Lloyd and Genis didn't kill things first, she killed them herself.

"Can they do something like that?" Genis asks.

"They're the ones powerful enough to trick two entire worlds." Piers points out.

"Ok, why would they do that?" Genis corrects himself. "I mean, they want Colette, but probably not hurt."

"It's just a conjecture. We can't say for certain." Raine shrugs.

"Maybe they want to kill the rest of us so Colette is easier to take?" Daichi comments.

"Oh, Seaweed-head, you're always so cheerful." Zelos says, smirking. Daichi's expression flat-lines once more.

"Shaddup..." He glowers at him. Fortunately, anything else is left unsaid because Lloyd passes them both. They've reached the peak.

"Ok, Zelos, how are we gunna carry these?" Lloyd points at the crashed machines. They're all easily something Daichi and Shikka'd have to work together to carry. And Daichi points this out vocally. Zelos passes Lloyd and spins about to walk backwards, smirking.

"Oh, I'll show ya." He turns back about. "Come over here for a sec." And so they do. Piers and Daichi lag behind suspiciously. Colette floats along behind them. Zelos stops, reaching into his pocket, with mutters of 'wing pack, wing pack'. This forces everyone else to stop, and when Colette does, an orange-red barrier forms about their party, leaving her out of it.

Yuan jumps out from behind a rock. "You've walked right into my trap, fools!"

Piers blinks. "Can you come back later? We're still preparing the basket."

Lloyd glances at Zelos. "He just called you a fool."

"Zelos..." Presea starts. "Is clumsy."

"Gah.." Zelos looks about. "I am so sad now..."

Daichi clonks Zelos. "Way to go, Chosen Klutz." Yuan has four renegades with him. There's one in Forcystus Red, Magnius Purple, Kvar Blue and another in green.

"You." One salutes. "Retrieve the Rheards."

"Yes, sir!" They all move and with clouds of smoke, the Rheairds vanish. Yuan turns his attention back on the group. Despite the fact his expression was barely different, there was a smug feel to his faint smirk.

"This time, you're mind, Lloyd."

"Lloyd doesn't have a mind." Piers points out, matter-of-factly.

"Hey!" Lloyd frowns.

Yuan frowns. "... Mine. Lloyd's mine now." He looks grumpy, slightly. "The elf, too."

"You are so not getting your Thank You basket now." Piers states. Yuan twitches.

"... damn." Lloyd grimaces, as punching the barrier only sends tingles up his arm.

"Oh?" They all turn, and Aurian eeps, moving behind Shikka. There's a green haired woman in a leotard, with a metal floating cloak thing. "Lord Yuan." Yuan grimaces at her for a moment. "What brings you to this place?"

"Look out! A flying slut! Oh, sorry. It's Lady Pronyma." Daichi comments. Yuan snorts, looking amused for a moment while Pronyma glares at him.

"I should ask you the same, Pronyma!" Yuan's standing a little straighter. "The role of you Desians is to wreak havoc upon the declining world!"

"Everyone, meet Lady Pronyma. Part-time porn star." Daichi says. Aurian isn't amused by Daichi's joking. Raine looks like she's debating clonking him, then decided against it.

"And this from one of Forcystus' dogs." Pronyma shoots back, before visibly calming and glancing at Yuan again. "I have come here on Lord Yggdrasill's order to retrieve Colette. Please turn her over to me."

"I'm not a dog no more." Daichi states. "I'm a bird."

The two Cruxians ignore him. "Fine. But in exchange for handing over the Chosen, I am taking custody of Lloyd and the elf. I trust you have no objections?" There's the sort of look to Yuan that says 'any objections shall be quelled with force, and I shall enjoy shutting you up.'

"And what about the rest of us?" Piers asks.

"I don't particularly care." Yuan waves a hand.

"I have no orders concerning the others." Pronyma says.

"...Well, that's nice." Piers comments, folding his arms. "Glad to see we've been remembered." He looks at Yuan. "You're also of my angel-fest card list." Yuan twitches. His expression is of irritation, and irony.

"I have received no orders in regards to him, so, please do as you wish, my lord." Pronyma answers Yuan, then hovers over to Colette.

"Colette!" Lloyd wriggles over to be closest to her in the barrier, hitting it again. "Don't go!"

Daichi looks to Yuan. "You can be a bastard at times, you know?"

Yuan smirks at him. "I'm fully aware of this fact."

"Hahaha. A futile effort. Your words cannot reach a Chosen who has lost her soul. What is this? Why is there such a crude Key Crest upon the Cruxis Crystal? ...How pathetic. I shall remove this ugly thing at once." Pronyma rambles and attempts to take Lloyd's Key Crest.

"N..No!" Colette's voice stuck for a moment, before she bitch-slapped Pronyma.

"Colette! You're okay!" Piers yells, seeming relieved. Shikka shifts about, protecting Aurian successfully from view. He's also giving Yuan a look that says 'I don't care what you are. You touch what's mine and I'll shank you'. Yuan gives him a look back that says 'what are you calling yours?' Shikka eyes him. He gives the look that says 'I am a cat. Everything belongs to me.' It's a look very few can argue against. Yuan gives him a look that says if they'd been talking, he might be floundering for words. but, since they weren't, he wasn't.

"This is a birthday present that Lloyd gave me!" Colette continues.

"Colette... spoke!" Genis cheers.

"Colette! Are you okay?" Lloyd's thrilled too. Colette blinks over her shoulder at them - her eyes are back to normal.

"What? Why is everyone... inside that thing?"

Yuan double-takes. "Impossible!" He looks like he's twitching to pull something out of his pocket or something. "There's no way that pitiful Key Crest could restrain the Cruxis Crystal!"

"Wow..." Zelos claps Lloyd on the back. "Not bad, Lloyd."

Shikka blinks, stepping out of the way slightly so Aurian could see. "Bravo, sir Lloyd. I knew you could do it."

"How could this happen?" Pronyma is displeased. "Still, in the end, it is but a worthless bauble. It shan't last long! Now, come with me!" Colette turns about and whacks Pronyma away from her with her Chakrams.

"Let me go!" She falls over due to Colette balance issues. The moment she does so, an orange box that had been under her feet starts smoking. "Whoops... Oh... oh no!" the barrier flickers and fails. "I broke it!"

"Good!" Daichi says, drawing his axe.

"Right! Good job, my little Colette! I think I'm falling in love!" Zelos gushes.

"Some things never change..." Raine sighs, but is smiling.

"That brought back some painful memories..." Sheena mutters, smiling.

"Colette!" Lloyd's all happy and bouncy again.

"Lloyd!" Colette gets up. "Lloyd, thank you for the present! I was so happy... I was really happy, but there wasn't anything I could do at the time." Yuan's watching them like he was reminded of how... silly, the group was.

"Looks like little Lloyd-y is useful for something." Daichi comments, ruffling Lloyd's hair.

Lloyd flat-lines for all of three seconds, then he's happy again. "It's okay, don't worry about it."

"Ahh!" Aurian yelps, diving behind Shikka again. The cause of her distress is obvious.

"You impudent...!" Pronyma's back on her feet. Shikka tenses, settiling into a ready position. Daichi whirls around to face Pronyma.

"_Acid Rain_!" It's a dark, and stinging spell.

"_Field Barrier_!" Yuan has shifted to lean on a rock and watch.

"Here we go! _Diamond Dust_!" Piers' starting move blasts forth. The acid rain is frozen and sent flying back towards Pronyma. Colette hovers away from Pronyma, and starts singing for _Holy Song_. Lloyd darts in on a Demon Fang's tail, blades already pulled back for a _Sword Rain_. Raine's charging up a light spell, and Zelos is moving with Lloyd in a pincer movement with Presea opposite. Piers is spamming _Deluge_. Shikka has shifted and is mainly protecting Aurian, lashing out if Pronyma gets too close.

Daichi is casting, a blue aura. "_Aqua Edge_!"

"I call upon the power of the holy blade..." Genis was trying out a new spell. "_Prism Sword_!"

"_Dark Sphere_!" Lloyd yelps, managing to get a Guardian up to protect himself from the dark version of _Photon_.

Daichi runs in, jumping in a sort of somersault. "_Ruin of Destruction_!"

"_Light Spear_!" Zelos says, twirling about.

"_Agarazium_!" Pronyma says, and a red-ish ring forms under Zelos.

"Ah, no way!" he spins out of the way, rather like he was dancing, and ends up elbowing Daichi in the back. Daichi yelps, the aqua-blue wings shooting out of his back. Having been some time since he last used them, a bit of blood is dripping from them.

"Ow..." He mumbles, emotionless. Zelos's eyes widen, flitting to a startled blue-grey color, while Pronyma stares.

"_Destruction_." Presea swings her ax in an arc and beats Pronyma into the air. "_Devastation_." And she brings the Cardinal back down.

"_Lightning Tiger Blade_!" Lloyd zaps her.

"_S-stone blast_." Aurian finally does something.

"_Photon_." Daichi says, casting in short succession with the others.

"_Holy Lance_!" Raine casts. Colette's still singing her Holy Song.

"_Atlas_!" A puddle of water forms and an Air Blade uses it for added damage on Pronyma courtesy of Genis.

"_Angel Feathers_..." Aqua blue feathers shoot from Daichi, exploding on contact with objects. Pronyma goes down with a cry.

Lloyd immediately spins on his heel. "This is the perfect opportunity! Yuan! I'm going to settle our score right now!" Yuan blinks, straightening, but before he can do anything, or Lloyd's strike can land, there's a blade in Lloyd's way and Lloyd's forced to skid a few feet back from... Kratos. Something seems different about Kratos' hair. His right eye was covered today, which showed a rather rough looking scar on the left hand side of his face, normally covered by his hair.

". . . ." Daichi hovers there, staring blankly.

"Kratos!" Piers growls. Lloyd shouts it. Kratos ignores them both.

"... What are you doing here?" Yuan sound sullen.

"Leave, Yuan." Kratos sounds as bland as ever. "Lord Yggdrasill has summoned you."

"gr.." Yes, Yuan just growled a little. "Are you taking the Chosen?" He walks over and kicks Pronyma back into awareness.

"No..." Kratos watches Colette blandly. "It's the Toxicosis."

"... I see."

Piers looks between Kratos and Yuan. "What the bloody hell are you two talking about?" They both ignore him.

"Lloyd." Yuan looks at the twinblade. "Our battle will have to wait." from his back spread wings rather like Kratos's in shape... but matching Presea's hair color in shade. He and Pronyma fly off.

"He's an angel too?" Sheena yelps.

"Dammit, Yuan!" Lloyd starts for the cliff edge. "Wait!"

"... What are you doing?" Kratos ask blandly.

"He is rather feminine." Zelos laughs a little.

"... What?" Lloyd stares at Kratos like he was debating the stupidity of attacking him.

"Why have you come all the way here to Tethe'Alla?" Kratos explains his question further.

"Why not? Consider it a vacation from crazies like you." Piers comments. There's a flicker of a smirk as Kratos surveys the party.

"I'm here to save Colette..." Lloyd says it slowly like he was wondering if Kratos' brain had been fried. Shikka is now sitting protectively before Aurian. Daichi is hovering behind Zelos spookily.

"What good will saving the Chosen do? The relation of the two worlds vying for each other's Mana will not change. Their positions have merely been reversed by the regeneration ritual." Kratos asks blandly.

"Has Tethe'Alla begun to decline?" Sheena grabs for Kratos' attention. Zelos looks like he's expecting the answer to be a bad one. Piers walks up beside Lloyd.

"The Tower of Salvation can still be seen from this world as well. As long as that exists here, it means that this world is still flourishing. Although, in the event that the Chosen becomes Martel's vessel, Tethe'Alla will surely bid farewell to its era of prosperity." Kratos answers her.

"Are you screwing with us?" Piers asks, folding his arms.

Kratos gives him a blank look. "I feel that I currently have no reason to do so. If you feel 'screwed with' that is your own problem."

"That sounds SO wrong."

"..."

Lloyd's expression flat lines for a moment before he looks like he's going to pull at his hair. "Dammit, isn't there anything that can be done? Yggdrasill's the one that built this twisted world!"

Kratos ignores this comment in favor of talking to Lloyd. "Lord Yggdrasill does not consider it twisted. If you want to do something about it, use your own head." He tilts his head. It turns out, the right side of his face is still burned with the black-violet dark-Mana burns. "I thought you weren't going to make any more mistakes?" It was the same tone where he had asked if they had wanted World Regeneration.

"What can we do about it, though..." Piers muses aloud.

"..." Kratos stares at Piers with an eyebrow raised.

"...What?" Piers states, looking up at Kratos. "I was thinking out loud! Sheesh!" He mutters. "Don't think we always have to be talking to you."

"Yeah, I'll do it! This stupid system of two worlds stealing Mana from each other... I swear I'll change it!" Lloyd announces with a grin.

"... Heh." That was probably the closest thing they were going to ever get to a laugh from Kratos. "Well, do your best." Kratos flies off.

"...Asshat." Piers comments. Lloyd gives him a look, before he has a sudden look of epiphany.

"I remember! That Pronyma was the one on the projector at the Asgard ranch!"

"You mean the one that Kvar was talking to?" Piers says. "Oooooh. I thought she looked familiar."

"That means she's a Desian!" Sheena grimaces.

"Now that Kratos came to interfere and all—it looks like the Desians and the Cruxis are really the same organization..." Genis sighs.

"Really? You needed more proof than him?" Piers jerks a thumb at Daichi.

"Yes." Genis shrugs.

"It would appear that Yuan is connected to the Cruxis as well." Raine mutters. "Although, the Renegades..." Had been gone since Pronyma had shown up, by the looks of things. With the Rheairds.

"Gaaaah!" Lloyd holds his head. "This is all so confusing! So, simplified... they're all our enemies, right?"

"Yup. Church, Renegades, Desians...Everyone hates us." Piers comments.

"That means we must be careful of everyone." Raine agrees.

Piers looks over. "What about Flirty McFlirtflirt here. He's part of the Church."

"Hey, the Pope's been trying to get rid of me since my old man died." Zelos shrugs. "And, technically, I'm just as wanted as the rest of you. I figure my chances are better with you all."

Piers shrugs. "Whatever."

"Hey, Colette, is everything else back to normal? Besides your voice, can you feel things and such?" Genis asks. Daichi is still hovering behind Zelos, axe in one hand.

"Yup, I think I'm okay. Thanks, everyone. And I'm sorry I made all of you worry so much. Hey, you know what? I think I'm hungry for the first time in a long while." Colette smiles.

"Well, whatever we make, we need to make a lot of it..." Piers states.

"That's great!" Lloyd cheers.

"It looks like I still have wings, though." Considering she'd been using them in the battle against Pronyma, it wasn't that much of a surprise that she could open them now.

"Wings can be handy." Shikka comments, shifting back into human form.

"Hmmm. Just like I thought. Colette is definitely cuter when she smiles!" Zelos notes to himself, out loud.

"Let's see.. You're... Zelos?" Colette blinks at him.

"Ohh! You remembered my name! We Chosen have to stick together, you know what I mean?" Zelos loops an arm about her shoulders. Any sub-meanings to his words goes right over Colette's head.

"Okay!" she chirps.

Daichi hovers closer, keeping with Zelos. "Looks like Colette has a guardian Angel." Piers points out.

"Hello Mr Daichi!" Colette waves at him.

"Now what shall we do? Since Colette has regained her soul, there's no need for us to head immediately back to Sylvarant, but..." Raine brings up what had gotten them on the wanted list to begin with.

"There's the fact that we're wanted fugitives in both worlds." Piers finishes.

"Actually, that's just Lloyd in Sylvarant." Genis points that out.

"Shut it." Lloyd says to Genis. "But we know what we have to do! We're going to search for a way to save both worlds in order to prevent any more Chosen like Colette!"

"Saving two worlds at once...Good idea." Piers notes.

"I agree with Lloyd. I promised Sheena, too." Colette smiles.

"Colette..." Sheena looks like she might blush.

"What about Presea?" Genis asks. "It's not fair to keep dragging her around like this!"

Everyone turns to silent little Presea. "...I... want to go home."

"To...Ozette, right?" Piers asks.

Shikka pipes something up. "It does not do to keep a lady waiting."

"Oh yeah, that's right, we need to bring Presea to that Kate chick. Ya know, to get her to release Presea from the experiment." Zelos adds. Shikka pokes at Aurian.

"Well, the sooner we go, the sooner we can save the world." Piers points out. Aurian blinks and wriggles away from him.

"Unfortunately, I doubt we can use the Grand Tethe'Alla Bridge anymore." Raine reminds them.

"Surely we can get a boat across." Piers suggests.

"No." Raine and Shikka state firmly, in unison.

"Hmm...I have contacts in Meltokio. Let's ask them for help." Sheena offers.

"But we're wanted traitors. Can we even get into Meltokio?" Genis asks.

"Leave that to me. I know Meltokio like the back of my hand." Zelos smirks.

"But...You wear gloves all the time." Lloyd points out.

"Still know my hands pretty well." Zelos smirks.

"..." Lloyd looks like he doesn't get it. "All right, we're counting on you, Zelos." Lloyd manages to not sound dubious that this was a good idea.

"You got it! You can always count on me! Now, my hunnies, we're off to Meltokio!" Zelos cheers.

"Did he just call us his hunnies?" Piers asks.

Genis nods. "Yes, he did. Again." Zelos starts down the mountain. Although it was getting close to evening, no one felt like spending the night where they'd just been seen by The Cruxis.

"Colette..." Lloyd watches her.

"What's wrong, Lloyd?"

"... Welcome back." Lloyd grins.

Colette giggles. "I'm glad to be back." Daichi still hover-stalks Zelos.

* * *

February 1st

* * *

"Whoa, what is this place?" Genis is covering his nose as they watch water flow out of the wall, a stone walk next to it with the bars broken off so they could walk in.

"The underground sewer." Zelos explains. "Waste water from the city flows out from here."

"This is a pretty good way of sneaking in." Lloyd notes, also covering his nose. Daichi doesn't cover his nose up and Shikka, although covering his nose, has to breathe through his mouth due to the sensory overload. Aurian's covering her nose as well, although it's more like she's doing it because everyone else is due to her confused expression.

"Well, Meltokio's gate closes at night, so I used this a lot to get back home." Zelos explains.

"... Why don't you get home until night?" Colette asks, confused.

"...Hmm, if you'd like me to show you, I'll be happy to educate you tonight." Zelos smiles and winks.

Daichi sweat-drops. "That was lame, chosen."

"It was a joke!" Zelos says, waving a hand in dismissal. "Don't get jealous now, Sheena."

Indeed, Sheena's looking a bit pissed off. "... You've got to be kidding me!"

Colette glances between Zelos and Sheena. "Why is Sheena upset?" She asks.

"... You'll understand when you're older." Raine says.

"Much older." Daichi adds onto the end.

"Enemy presence detected." Presea announces mechanically. "There is danger."

"Ah.. yeah." Lloyd looks inside the sewers. "Let's be careful as we go."

Daichi draws his axe, sighing. "I miss those Papal knights..." The danger that Presea sensed came in the form of rats, giant leeches, poisonous snakes, and jellyfish. Daichi and Shikka seem to take care of the bulk of the enemy forces. Daichi seems to like looting the corpses.

"..." Raine's poking a blue panel on the ground with the end of her staff, before she stands on it and nothing happens. "Huh."

"Found a Sorcerer's ring thingy." Lloyd says, setting the ring on the machine and gaining a new one, slipping it on.

"Good for you." Piers says sarcastically. Lloyd makes a face at him, then activates the ring. The room suddenly seems many times larger.

"...What the hell?" Daichi says, blinking.

"Hmmm? It looks like the path got wider." Colette looks about.

"No, we got smaller!" Genis announces.

"... I guess so." Presea monotones.

"...Hm. Interesting." Shikka says, looking about. "We're still the biggest, however. It hasn't standardized the height."

"You're right!" Colette beams. Genis mutters to himself, then climbs back onto Daichi's shoulders.

"But we can't do anything like this!" Lloyd waves his arms angrily. They're small enough that the stairs are too high for them.

"..." Aurian's looking at the grime that was now about knee deep, a bit green.

"Oh, I see!" Zelos cackles. "Now I can do this and that without anyone finding out it's me..." Daichi blinks. He looks up at Genis.

"Hey. Don't use me to improve your napoleon complex!" He protests.

"Oh, brother. How can you be thinking about something like that?" Sheena groans.

"But how do we get back to normal?" Genis asks, staying put on Daichi's shoulders.

"Now that you mention it..." Raine carefully dropped down the half-step to the main floor, and walked onto the blue panel. She, and she alone, grew back to normal size. Aurian yelps. "I see." Raine's voice was a bit deafening. "It appears that stepping on these panels will restore us to our normal size." Raine says. So they hurry over and return to full size. Except that there was a stretch of cobwebing that was a too far to jump stopping them from reaching the stairs to the other level. So it was time to shrink again.

Daichi grumbles. "This puzzle makes no sense..." Zelos is frowning about occasionally, usually when no one was really looking at him, but they make their way across the Cobweb, then onto the next blue tile so they can climb the stairs. And then to a locked door.

"... Huh? It's locked..." Lloyd hand picks in his hand shortly after announcing that, running his other hand along the door to look for a lock to open.

"Can't we just kick it in?" Daichi asks.

"Go for it." Lloyd says, backing up, his picks disappearing. "It looks like stone to me, though."

"Zelos!" Sheena whirls on the redhead. "Didn't you say you knew this route well?"

"Huh." Zelos is frowning at the door. "That's weird. It was never closed when I came through. Maybe..."

"Stone..." He ponders before smirking. "Got it." He steps a few steps back, starting to run, glowing slightly. "_Dark Crush_!" He yells, triggering an Arte. He dents and slightly cracks the door, but ultimately falls back, dazed...

"Why can't we just blow the door up?" Lloyd asks, frowning at the damage that Daichi dealt.

"Because that would be property damage." Zelos shrugs.

"We're already wanted." Lloyd backs away.

"... Let me try." Aurian mutters, clutching her glaive awkwardly. A earthen glow started up on one hand and a golden one on the other. Shikka pulls Daichi out of any potential blast range, watching curiously. Like a cat with a shiny.

"Roar of the earth, loose thy gleaming fangs." Aurian mutters, shifting the two seals onto each other then pressing her palm into the new one. "_Crystal Spear_!" Large crystals form and stab into the door, radiating light and heat as they do so. The door, and part of the wall about it as this was evidently an area spell, groans.

"I summon forth the fury of the sea! _Mercury_!" The summon appears in the form of the little blue critter before poofing. High-power Mercury energy pounds the door. Aurian's Crystals collapse against the door and wall after they finished forming and stabbing, leaving them with a bit more of a walk way than there was on the other side.

"..." Zelos looks at the destruction as the spell faded, then at Aurian. "Remind me not to piss off Ms Elf."

"What makes you sure you should piss the rest of us off?" Piers says, twirling his sword and sheathing it, as he had used the blade to channel his magic.

"I have the feeling you'd actually have to move before I'm attacked." Zelos twirls some of his hair about a finger. "Ms Elf doesn't need to budge."

".. Let's just get going." Lloyd wisely doesn't want this conversation to continue.

"..." Piers shrugs. "Whatever makes you happy." He replies to Zelos. He walks on.

Zelos blinks, glancing at Piers. "..." He grimaces, and continues on. They reach a long path, and fight more sewer rats and other vermin, then reach a room with a sewage waterfall by means of breaking another door down. They're almost out, by the way there's a ladder beyond the stairs up. Three ratty males step out to stop them, holding makeshift weapons and broken shackles.

"What's goin' on?" Zelos blinks.

"I sense.. danger." Presea monotones.

"…We've been waiting for you, travelers from Sylvarant." One says.

"The Pope promised to lighten our sentences if we got rid of you. We've got nothing personal against you, but we need you to die!" one of the others says.

Daichi chuckles, stepping forward. "You really think you stand a chance?" He asks, axe over one shoulder, smirking.

"S-shut up!" the third snaps.

"... _Air Thrust_." Aurian casts. The hardened blades of air effectively reduce that one to ribbons.

"Any further protests?" Daichi asks, settling into a ready position.

"Die!" The remaining pair jump for Daichi, crude mace and shackle chains as weapons. The rest have gotten the vibe that Daichi wanted to do this on his own, so they just sit ready in case. Daichi's eyes glint rather maliciously. He swings the haft of his axe into the groin of one of the convicts, the other getting a punch to the face. They stagger back.

Lloyd and Zelos make appropriate "oooh..." noises at the groin blow. Daichi slashes for one of the weapons, aiming at the hand that holds it. He lops the hand off the one who was gasping due to the force that had injured his ability to children, causing the man to scream.

"Damn Half-breed bastard!" the second shouts, thrashing his chain at Daichi. Daichi ducks the chain and grabs the man by the throat, slamming him into the wall.

"What was that?" He snarls, but still has that malicious smirk.

"Let me go, damn half elf!" the convict gasps out, flailing his feet. A glint of brass was now on Daichi's knuckles. He starts punching various parts of the man's body, breaking his kneecaps first.

"Uhhh..." Genis is staring blankly as the convict tries to thrash. Aurian's paler than her anemic pale and shaking. The one-handed one picks up his weapon again, and tries to beat Daichi with it, despite wobbling due to blood lost. Daichi drops his comrade, turning on the other, grabbing his axe as he does so, swinging it and decapitating him.

Zelos gives a tiny whistle. "Someone's got anger management problems." the remaining convict is trying to crawl up the stairs. It's not working very well for him. Daichi puts a boot on his head, stabbing through his neck with a lead pipe from their packs.

"... Done now?" Lloyd asks. Zelos steps out to nudge a body.

"Yep!" He seems cheerful for what he's just done.

"Oookay..." Lloyd says.

"Ahh!" Zelos yelps, as a large blue haired man jumps out of nowhere and knocks him down.

"Don't move..." The man's got a low rough voice, placing an armored foot on Zelos's back. "If you move, the Chosen dies. Understand?" He's wearing better, but only slightly better, clothes than the other convicts, a white top that showed his abs and dark green pants tucked into greaves, and is still handcuffed.

"..." Piers and Daichi look at each other and smirk.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Zelos protests, pushing his face out of the grime but not able to move much due the firmly planted foot between his shoulders. "You think you can get away with doing something like this to the Chosen?"

"... One who plots the destruction of the world... can no longer be deemed the Chosen." This strangely formal convict says.

"... Oh..." Zelos says, before looking the groups way. "Hey, Lloyd! If you abandon me here, I swear, I'll come back to haunt you!" Lloyd scratches his cheek, shifting his weight as he looks like he's thinking hard with a grin.

"... I just had a sudden, violent urge to abandon you." Lloyd drawls.

"Seconded." Daichi says, raising his hand.

"Heeey!" Zelos whines, but Presea lunges forward, her axe swinging for the Convict. The blue haired man dodges, allowing Zelos to flee back to the group and hug Lloyd from behind. "Phew!" Zelos sighs.

"..." Lloyd's expression is unreadable. This might have to do with all the muck Zelos just transferred to his back.

"... You're..!" the convict starts, studying Presea, who stares zombie like at him.

"..." Daichi stares at Zelos and Lloyd.

Lloyd flails, getting out of Zelos's grip. "Lemme go." Lloyd wrinkles his nose, catching that the muck on Zelos' front had transferred to his back. "...eeeewwww."

Genis catches the Kendama ball. "_Fireball_!" the convict avoids the trio of fireballs.

"...Tch.." he makes annoyed noise, and books it.

Daichi shoulders his axe again. "What the hell?"

".. Looks like it's over for now." Lloyd puts his palm firmly in Zelos's face to avoid another hug from the Tethe'Allan chosen.

"Thank goodness everyone's okay!" Colette chirps.

Raine frowns at Daichi, then the ladder out. "... You need to clean up." She says, crossing her arms.

"...Why?"

"We are not walking out into Meltokio with you, covered in blood." Raine says firmly.

"Well, everyone else is smothered in grime." He protests, before casting a few low-level water spells to wash the blood off his armor.

"..." Aurian tilts her head, then looks at everyone else. ".. _Blessed Drops_." Somehow, it doesn't actively damage them, it just drenches them all. Lloyd splutters, his hair falling into his face messily.

"... A little warning would have been nice." Raine sighs, flicking water off her hands. "Let's go." Zelos is trying to wring out his hair. Piers winces as though the water is slightly burning.

* * *

February 2nd

* * *

They climb out of a manhole in the pre-dawn Meltokio. They're behind the item shop, a level down from the Coliseum.

"We finally made it into the city." Lloyd shakes himself to try to be rid of the water.

"Yeah." Sheena puts her hair back up in its knot. "Now we can meet my friends." Daichi lets himself drip-dry and Piers is dry already. Shikka is trying not to make his hair poof. Presea acts like she doesn't realize she's been spell-doused, Aurian doesn't seem to care.

"Where are your friends?" Colette's trying to wring her dress out a little.

"At a place called the Elemental Research Laboratory. I learned my summoning arts there. It's also where Corrine was born." Sheena says, wringing out her ribbon.

"It's not gonna be like Sybak, is it? All university-like?" Daichi comments gloomily.

"It's a building." Sheena says. "I guess inside it is, but it doesn't have a campus or anything."

"So it's like a proper laboratory on elemental study?" Piers asks. "Interesting..."

"More or less." Sheena shrugs.

"Okay, so of to this Elemental research place." Lloyd gives up trying to dry off. Piers glows lightly as he draws all the moisture off of everyone and dumps it somewhere. There's a scream from the upper quarter. For some reason, no citizen is protesting the sight of the wanted party as they wander through lower Meltokio. Zelos even stalls to flirt once or twice. A sound of clanking armor in a running pattern has them slowing, looking about. Piers and Daichi stop, turning around. A long dark violet haired form jumps the stairs half way down, carrying a sheath and paced by a blue and white dog. The knights are just getting off the last set of stairs still, but with cries of 'stop, thief!'

"...Is that a chick?" Daichi asks.

"Go, girl, go!" Zelos cheers. The runner skids to a halt and turns back about. From this angle, the dark haired figure was hopefully not female due to the half-open shirt.

"I'm a guy!" The thief shouts at them, in an unmistakably male voice.

"That's why I asked instead of assuming." Daichi says, folding his arms. The young man glances up the stairs, which the knights were starting to descend, and says something to his dog, who ran off in one direction while the young man clambered up the wall.

"... Oookay then..." Lloyd blinks as the knights completely ignore them.

"Funny isn't it." Piers comments.

"Yep." Genis agrees.

"This way." Sheena waves them to follow her as she heads past the stairs, around the inn, and under an over-bridge.

"So. We're wanted, right?" Daichi says.

"Yep." Genis says.

"So. Why didn't the knights chase after us instead of the she-male?" A rock comes from the wall toward Daichi.

"That would because I'm ... loose friends with most of them." Zelos smirks. Daichi instinctively ducks. Sheena shakes her head at their antics, and opens the door of a building for them, heading in. There's a red ninja in there. He has to be a ninja, for the only skin he's showing is that around his eyes.

"...I dislike most ninjas..." Daichi mutters.

"... You've met a ninja other than Sheena?" Genis asks.

"Sheena! It's you!" the Red Ninja blinks.

"Kuchinawa! What're you doing here?" Sheena asks.

"...Once." Daichi adjusts his glasses in the way that hides his eyes with the glare on the lenses.

"I'm on a top secret mission." Kuchinawa explains. "What about you?"

"... you can't say most unless you have at least 2:1 ratio of disliked to liked." Genis says.

"Ah, I'm in a bit of trouble, actually." Sheena rubs the back of her head. "My friends and I need to get across the bridge."

"...Shaddup, smart-aleck." Daichi grumbles.

"Friends?" Kuchinawa eyes them. "They're not from Mizuho."

"Most of them are Sylvaranti." Sheena shrugs. "Guys, this is a friend from Mizuho. His name's Kuchinawa." Sheena introduces them.

"Sheena and I grew up together. Pleased to meet you." Piers and Shikka return the greeting. Daichi is still bickering with Genis about love:hate ratios. Lloyd and Raine do as well. Aurian's ears are twitching as this many people in the medium sized room makes it feel a bit too small for the elf. Zelos is more or less ignoring them.

"I'll go talk to the people in the laboratory." Sheena and Kuchinawa head down a set of stairs.

"...So what do we do now?" Daichi grumbles.

"... follow them?" Lloyd offers, already heading toward the stairs. Raine shrugs, and follows him. Colette follows Lloyd.

"...Might as well." Piers states following. Daichi is pointedly ignoring Genis at this point. Genis notices. He climbs up on Daichi's shoulders, which makes him a bit harder to ignore. Daichi still does a good job. Aurian mutters, wavering a little, but follows.

"That's insane!" Sheena yelps by the time they get down the stairs.

"What's insane?" Lloyd blinks.

"..." Piers smirks.

"Listen to this!" Sheena gestures at the researcher she was talking to, a man with honey-brown hair, glasses, and the researcher's white coat. "They want us to cross the sea in an Elemental Cargo!"

"Is there somethin wrong with that?" Daichi asks.

"Yes!" Sheena's irritated.

"An elemwhat?" Lloyd blinks.

"Elemental Cargo, typically called EC. It's a compact transport vehicle controlled by Exspheres. Its maximum load weight is 1400kg and maximum speed is more than three times faster than an upgraded Exsphere-equipped carriage. They are currently used primarily by shipping companies for delivery." Presea says.

"...Wow." Daichi states, amazed.

"Hey, what are we, packages?" Zelos protests this as well.

"The Elemental Cargo absorbs Mana from the atmosphere and ejects it into the air, producing a counter-reaction that propels it forward." the man performs the glassesflash. "So if we use Undine for that, we get an EC that can surf."

"Does it move?" Piers asks.

"S...surf..." Raine turns a bit green.

"Yes. But it's a LAND TRANSPORT." Sheena grumbles.

"Isn't there any other way?" Lloyd scratches his nose.

"The bridge is closed. You don't have the necessary identification to use an ocean liner. And on top of that, there are three half-elves with you." the researcher glassesflashes again.

Zelos looks to Piers. "We could have Piers part the sea."

Piers looks at him. "I'm not the incarnation of Poseidon."

"... not that again." Genis is grumpy about the half-elf thing.

"That's the kind of world Tethe'Alla is." The researcher glassesflashes. "We, too, hardly ever get to leave this building."

"I wonder why everyone can't get along..." Colette sighs.

"Yeah. I wonder why." Daichi asks, mock-innocently.

"Ah, well, there's no point in getting all gloomy." Zelos says. "So will you make that modified EC for us?" Aurian steps on Daichi's foot. When it doesn't quite work well due to his armor, she jumps on it.

"If you'll wait a day, we'll have it ready." the researcher shrugs.

"...Do you want me to take the boot off?" Daichi asks.

"No." Aurian scowls at him, then kicks his shin, half her foot above the boot line. Raine grabs onto the back of her shirt and pulls her away.

"Okay." Zelos blinks at this. "Well, then, let's go rest at my mansion."

"The Pope's minions aren't going to be waiting for us there, right?" Sheena frowns.

"Ow..." Daichi mutters, rubbing the top of his shin. "That didn't hurt as much as I expected to..."

"We're going to have to spend the night in this city. So it doesn't matter where we are, it'll still be dangerous." Lloyd points out.

"Maybe it's because Aurian's not really a fighter-build." Genis says, before he frowns at the tinkling sound of some sort of wall breaking a little.

"Yeah. I guess you're right." Sheena sighs about Lloyd's comment.

"What was that?" Daichi says as he hears it too.

"No idea." Genis sighs.

"My mansion's in the nobles' quarter to the right of Castle Tethe'Alla. It's a conspicuously big building, so you can't miss it." Zelos smirks, but leads the way.

"We already know that." Piers points out.

"I was making sure Little Angel did. She was a bit zombie last time." Zelos says.

"I remember." Colette smiles.

"..." Piers mutters something.

Again, no one seems to care that a band of wanted people are wandering about in the streets. They head all the way into Zelos' mansion, which means they have to walk right in front of the church and palace, with no problems.

"Welcome home, Chosen One." Sebastian is there, without anyone really seeing where he popped up from.

"Yo, I'm back." Zelos looks about. "Anything happen while I was gone?"

"I was instructed by the Pope and an emissary of His Majesty Tethe'Alla the 18th to report as soon as the Chosen returned."

"You can just ignore that." Zelos waves it off.

"Yes, sir. Ahh..." He glances at Lloyd, then back to Zelos. "and who is the guest with the two swords?"

"My bud." Zelos glances back at Lloyd. "Again, just make yourselves at home."

"If there is anything you need, Sir Bud, please speak to me." Sebastian bows and walks off.

"...How like a butler. Proper and polite and still very snotty." Piers comments.

"My name isn't 'Bud'." Lloyd mumbles. Raine has wandered over to a large painting of a blonde woman in a red dress. Sheena inches over an eyes the flowers in a vase. Daichi is with Sheena, looking at the flowers also. They're daylilies. Lloyd wanders aimlessly about, then gets directions from Sebastian back to a room. Aurian blinks, watching this, then waits for Sebastian to get the same. Presea stalks her.

"What's so special about these flowers?" Daichi asks.

"... smells nice." Sheena looks up and goes pink. "What, is it weird for me to be looking at flowers?"

" ...No, not at all. I like daylilies, too." Daichi says, actually serious.

"... okay." Sheena blinks. "Didn't expect something like that from you."

"...Just because I'm an ex-torturer doesn't mean I don't like flowers." He sighs. "Alery got me some..."

"... Who?" Sheena blinks.

"I, uh..." Daichi seems to go a light pink. "N-No-one." He subconsciously rubs the back of his neck. His Exsphere, to be exact.

"... Riight..." Sheena lets it go though, yawning.

Genis taps the top of Daichi's head. "Really."

Daichi blinks, fliching. "Gah! Genis! How'd...Since when were you there?"

"Since the Research Laboratory." Genis reminds him. "But I'd like down now. And an answer."

Daichi plucks Genis from his neck like one would a cat, by the collar. "I-It's just...Uh..." He falters. Genis flails a little, grabbing onto his hand. Daichi sets him down, looking around. "Uh...Presea looks lonely." He turns the little mage around, giving him a rough shove in the back. "Go cheer her up." This sufficiently distracts Genis.

"... smooth." Sheena points out.

Daichi looks to Sheena, still a light shade of pink. "W-Well, I needed to distract the kid."

"yeah, yeah... I'm goin to bed." She heads past Genis and Presea, where Presea tells Genis that he is 'p...p...pretty too'. Daichi grunts and heads off to bed also. Piers has picked up a random book and is reading it.

* * *

Yay cameo :D


	38. Not Suspicious Enough

February 3rd

* * *

Lloyd opens the door to what he hoped was the bathroom. He's faced with a weird, wide-open room with a console and two people. The room would never fit behind the door.

The male turns around. "Don't people teach you to knock. Close the door."

"Right." Lloyd blinks, and shuts it. He knocks, and opens it again. It's an empty room. A bedroom. Lloyd shuts it, then opens it again, after knocking. Finding the same bedroom, he heads downstairs.

Piers is sitting there, reading a book. "Morning."

"Piers..." Lloyd blinks at him. "If I open doors and find rooms that can't possibly be there, what does that mean?"

Piers turns a page. "It means you're crazy."

"Ok, I can deal with that." Lloyd mutters, finding food. Daichi comes down next, slipping a shirt on. Again, it looks as though he's shaved. Lloyd's eating. Colette comes down, her head awkwardly tilted, and Aurian follows her. Presea follows Aurian blankly.

"..." Piers watches Colette. "Uh. Colette?"

"Huh?" Colette blinks at him.

"Why are you walking like that?" He motions to the awkward head-tilt.

"Hmm?" She blinks. "I think I slept wrong. My shoulder feels stiff."

"Ah. Okay." He goes back to reading. And so they all gather and eat. Aurian isn't as twitchy this time. Shikka is sitting between Aurian and Zelos, his tail twitching happily as he eats. And so they clean up.

"Ready to go to the Laboratory?" Zelos tilts his head at a matching angle to Colette's, watching them.

Sheena walks up and bats Zelos' head into the right position. "Stop it."

"Ahh, Sheena honey, it was only for that little bit!" Zelos holds his head.

Sheena raises her hand again. "Don't call me honey." Daichi smirks at this.

"Yes, yes, violent demonic banshee, I know your preferred title." Lloyd grins as Zelos's face meets Sheena's hand again.

"Shut up, or I'll hit you!" Sheena snaps. Daichi stops himself from sniggering aloud.

"But Sheena, you already hit me!" Zelos points out the problem with her order. Sheena whacks him again.

"Right, let's get going!" Lloyd grins as he passes Zelos.

"Llo~yd save me!" Zelos tries to cling onto the twinblade's back. Shikka sticks close to Aurian. Seems the Laguz has a protection instinct with the elf. Aurian doesn't seem to get it, but does only occasionally shift so he isn't in her bubble. They once again, run into no trouble in Meltokio.

"Welcome back." It's the researcher with the glasses. He makes the lenses flare again. "Everything's ready."

"...We're traveling on W-Water, right?" Shikka stammers a bit. A rarity in the Laguz's normally calm speech.

"After you get there." the researcher shrugs, not denying it.

"Where's the EC?" Sheena asks.

The researcher blinks at her. "Kuchinawa carried it away already."

"Kuchinawa got it?" Sheena looks confused.

"...So one man carried a transport for 11 people?" Daichi asks, slightly disbelieving.

"11 and Noishe." Lloyd amends for Daichi.

"Yes." the researcher says. "I thought Kuchinawa had talked to you about it, but I guess he didn't. Go to the artificial beach on the right side of the Grand Tethe'Alla Bridge. Kuchinawa should be waiting there. Also, take this with you." He hands a white thing to Lloyd.

"..." Daichi frowns lightly.

"Aaandd... what's this?" Lloyd blinks at it.

"What do you mean, 'what's this'? It's a wing pack. You store the EC in it." the researcher glassesflashes them.

"...A what pack?" Piers asks, taking the white thing from Lloyd.

"Wing." the researcher shrugs. "It's actually something old, and that's what the name was."

"... In this? Is the Elemental Cargo that small?" Lloyd's trying to figure out how to take 12 people on something that he can fit in his hand.

"I think it has some compression technology or something." Piers has a pair of glasses on, examining the box.

"It does." the researcher and Aurian say at the same time, but the elf looks very confused.

"Ah, I see. They don't have wing packs in Sylvarant. Man, you guys are a bunch of country folks!" Zelos says, nodding to himself.

"Gee, sorry!" Lloyd snaps at Zelos.

"My, I'm so glad everyone's having fun~." The researcher says, glassesflashing. There's a pause where everyone stares at him.

"Hahah, don't get mad, now. I'll show you how to use it later. Come on, let's get going." Zelos leaves quickly.

"Have fun~!" The researcher calls after them.

"Is he always like that?" Genis glances back down the stairs.

"Smirking and making snarky or awkward comments like he's blind or something then following it up with completely accurate things that you thought he missed?" Sheena asks. "Yes. He is."

Daichi shivers slightly. "He's weird."

"Yeah. He wanted to be an autopsist before the Research Laboratory got their hands on him. He doesn't let newcomers forget it." Sheena shudders.

"..." Daichi shivers again, as though that brought back memories.

Sheena blinks as they stop by the upstairs desk. "Ah, wait just a sec. Come on out, Corrine!" There's a poof of smoke and the little fox is there. "We're going to be gone for a while. Say good-bye to everyone. ...It's all right, they aren't going to do any more weird experiments on you." the slightly creepy researcher had ended up following them, and there was a woman behind the desk. Daichi tries to distance himself from the researcher. Said researcher gives them a smile that says he had heard all of that, before giving Corrine a slightly calmer smirk of sorts. Aurian's put Shikka between her and the researcher.

"Corrine, how have you been?" He glassesflashes. "Look after Sheena for us."

"I hate this place!" Corrine mutters. "...I have Sheena, so I won't be lonely."

Piers glassesflashes himself, as he still had his own on after studying the wing pack. "We will."

"Corrine! Don't talk like that." Sheena chides the fox-creature.

"... goodbye." the summon de-summons itself.

"I guess Corrine still hates us..." the researcher sighs, although he doesn't sound too put out about it.

Piers takes his glasses off. "C'mon. We best be going."

"... Right." Lloyd blinks, and they head outside. The guards at the gate politely remind them that they're wanted, and that they really shouldn't use the main entrance, so they instead go through the sewers. Again. Thus Genis climbs on Daichi's shoulders, again.

* * *

February 4th

* * *

The bridge is still up. "Kuchinawa should be waiting for us at the bottom of the right staircase." Sheena points at a fenced off area.

"... The gate is locked." Presea notes.

"So it is!" Lloyd has picks in hand and shortly it isn't. "Now it's not."

"Wow!" Colette cheers. "Lloyd, you're amazing!"

"At least he's useful for certain things." Genis shrugs.

"His face loses out to mine, though." Zelos nods.

"What does his face have to do with anything?" Piers comments.

"Exactly?" Lloyd wants to know.

"You can see the bridge." Raine has passed them down to the corner at where two flights meet. Aurian looks like she's apologizing in her head for every step she's taking. Daichi is not looking at the bridge at all. Colette blinks and passes Lloyd.

"...Oh, you're right. Are those decoration-looking things Exspheres?" They look like hexagonal plates.

"That's right, Colette~. That bridge is...operated by Exspheres." Zelos follows her, sparing the bridge a glance. Daichi growls to himself.

"It's... a little gross looking." Colette mutters.

"It certainly is grotesque. Although, knowing where Exspheres come from, I'm not sure it's appropriate to describe them that way." Zelos says, looking serious toward the end of that.

"... You're right." Colette smiles a little, but she's taken on that 'I'm sorry for walking on you' look that Aurian has as they continue down the stairs.

"...Sooner we get away from this thing, the better." Daichi mumbles.

"It took you long enough. This is the EC." Kuchinawa glances over at them, then nods at a boat that looks a bit too rectangle.

"That'll carry all of us, right?" Shikka asks, wary.

"Yes." Kuchinawa says, although he blinks at Noishe.

"Okay, Piers." Zelos crosses his arms and watches the mariner. "Try using the wing pack. Just hold it up toward the EC." Piers removes the pack from under his arm, glad Zelos used his real name. He does as instructed. The EC vanishes in a cloud of smoke.

"Whoa?" Lloyd jumps.

"Wow, that's incredible!" Colette bounces.

"Wow!" Genis cheers. "How does it work?"

"...Impressive." Piers states. Aurian blinks at it.

"...Why do I...feel like I've seen this before?" Raine mumbles.

"... Professor?" Presea blinks up at the half elf.

Daichi looks to Zelos. "How do we get the stuff back out, then, Genius?"

"Hold it back out toward the water. And push the little feather button." Zelos says, smirking.

"Ah.. nothing." Raine replies to Presea. Piers does so. The EC reappears.

"Wow!" All three of Iselia's golden trio cheer.

"It came back out!" Lloyd eyes the EC and the Wing Pack.

"That's what she said." Daichi mutters quietly.

"...That's enough goofing around. How about getting on your way?" Kuchinawa seems irritated with them.

"Sure." Piers climbs in the boat.

"All right." Lloyd grins at the boat. "I can't wait to figure out how it runs! This is great!" Lloyd climbs in.

"You know you'll just get bored with it in no time..." Genis sighs, following Lloyd.

"Yay, we get to go out to sea!" Colette cheers, carefully flying over. Piers looks happy about this. Daichi doesn't seem to mind and Shikka looks nothing short of terrified.

"We're going out to sea, aren't we..." Raine looks green, but she carefully gets on the boat. Aurian's looking at it, then at Noishe and the other companions, and then at the boat. She's not looking thrilled either. Zelos shrugs, mutters about country bumpkins, and offers to help Aurian onto the boat. Aurian ignores him, and he shrugs and climbs on. Shikka is the last one on, who only got on the boat by means of Daichi and Piers pushing him.

"Let's get going, then." Sheena's sitting on top, as she had to summon Undine. "Off to Sybak!"

"Sheena, take this with you." Kuchinawa hands her a tag.

She eyes it. "A protective charm?"

"Yes. Be careful." Kuchinawa vanishes in smoke, the true ninja way.

"Undine!" Sheena summons the Spirit, and some of her Mana flows into the boat. It starts moving. Shikka whines quietly.

"Lloyd! What did you do?" Sheena shouts down at them.

"Nothing!" Lloyd retorts. "I haven't poked any buttons yet!"

"Then why are we moving?"

"Undine is taking us there." Aurian mutters. She's squished in a corner.

"Well, this is what happens when you use sentience as a power source." Piers points out.

"... Okay." Sheena mutters, climbing back in.

* * *

February 5th

* * *

When they entered Sybak, a familiar person is standing before the town square.

"Kratos!" Lloyd is still displeased with the red-haired Cruxian, and the man puts something in his pack. "Are you here to take Colette away?" Kratos has enough time to turn about, because Lloyd's drawn a sword and attempted to slash Kratos. Kratos' parry knocks Lloyd back on his ass.

"I have no intention of fighting you ... within the city." Kratos says.

Piers has his glasses on. "Then why are you here?" Glassesflash.

"That is of no concern to you." Kratos says, before glancing at Lloyd as Lloyd gets up. Kratos' blade vanishes in some small lights - he wasn't wearing a sheath. "You lack the skills to defeat me."

"Stop insulting me." Lloyd snaps.

"I merely speak the truth." he turns to walk past them.

"..." Piers doesn't react as Kratos walks by him. And neither does Daichi. Neither want to end up on their butts.

"Chosen One. If you wish to live, you must remove that worthless Key Crest." Kratos pauses next to Colette.

"...No." Colette gives him a little glare. "I'm never taking it off. Lloyd gave this to me."

"... Foolish sentiments..." Kratos wanders out of town.

"He... wasn't after Colette?" Genis blinks.

"Kratos really doesn't seem the type to lie..." Piers comments, glasses flashing.

"... He also didn't say he wasn't." Aurian mutters. She's a little twitchy again. Zelos sighs.

"Man, what an arrogant S.O.B." Zelos shakes his head. "Talking as if he knows everything..."

"..." Piers says nothing, but just glassesflashes.

"While we're on the subject of ways of talking, why don'tcha do something about the vulgar language?" Sheena glares at Zelos. Zelos's response is to laugh.

"Anyway..." Raine chooses to ignore Zelos. "Lloyd, we must go see this Kate person."

"... Yeah... Let's get going." Lloyd also decides that ignoring Zelos is the way to go. Daichi looks away, coughing slightly at the comment about vulgar language.

They end up overhearing a conversation between two student girls in blue. "Do you know Kratos? He's been coming to this city often lately. He's got a mysterious charm..."

Lloyd freezes. "Kratos?" He turns and asks.

"...These people obviously have no taste in men." Piers glassesflashes. Genis sniggers. Everyone but Lloyd stares at Piers.

"Wh...why are you mad?" the other girl blinks at them, before smirking. "Oh, I get it. You're jealous because not only is he cool, but he's also an elite of the Imperial Research Academy."

"...He's not a member of the Imperial Research Academy." Lloyd says flatly, crossing his arms.

"You're lying. He goes in and out of the Academy all the time." the other girl says.

"..." Piers glassesflashes. "What? I didn't say I'd be a replacement. I'm just saying he's not the best pick of the litter." Glassesflash. "I'd rather do Daichi."

Daichi blinks. "Wait, what?" Zelos is smirking.

"That's strange. Should we look into it?" Colette asks as the two girls wander off in a huff.

"After talking to Kate, I guess." Lloyd's a little grumpy, but he leads the way toward that secret entrance. Aurian looks confused at Piers.

"Just saying." Glassesflash. "Choice between you and Kratos, it'd be you."

"Are you coming on to me?"

Glassesflash. "Of course not."

"That's enough..." Raine mutters, following Lloyd. Piers smirks, happy that he's successfully bamboozled the large half-elf who follows after a few minutes. Lloyd gets the bookshelf to slide open.

"... It's you!" Kate says it like she didn't expect him to return.

"We've saved our friends and came back with Presea just like we promised." Lloyd says, giving them all room to come into the basement lab.

Kate studies them, her eyes easily finding the Sages and Daichi. "...Yes, you're right. The strange Mana produced by the fusion of Elven and human blood... You really do have half-elf friends."

"I've heard the story. Presea's creating a Cruxis Crystal inside her body?" Raine asks.

"Yes, that's correct. We call it the Angelus Project." Kate says. Lloyd goes pale.

Daichi blinks. "Why does that...Sound familiar...?"

"The Angelus Project?" Lloyd's voice cracks. "That's... that's the project Mom was involved in!" Presea frowns suddenly, and wanders over to a corner.

"The Exsphere itself is nothing special. It just has a special Key Crest placed on it. This Key Crest delays the Exsphere's parasitic process, which can take place over a few days or up to several decades." Kate says like giving a report. "It seems this can cause Exspheres to mutate into Cruxis Crystals."

"..." Daichi seems to be trying to remember something.

"Is the parasitic infection of the Exsphere the reason why Presea's emotional response is so subdued?" Raine asks, full scholarly mode on.

"So she's just like Colette." Genis guesses.

Colette blinks, looking at Presea, then Kate. "If we leave Presea like this, what will happen to her?"

"..." Daichi glassesflashes as he continues to look as though he's thinking, his expression grim.

"When the parasitic process is complete...she will die." Kate shrugs.

"That's horrible! Please save her! What did she ever do to you?" Genis shouts.

"...Nothing. She hasn't done anything. She just matched in the compatibility test." Kate shrugs.

"... You promised." Lloyd points out, looking like he'd like to get angry too. "You're going to save her, right?" Piers frowns at this, watching curiously.

"...Yes. I know. You didn't discriminate against half-elves...I'll keep my promise." She actually looks like she's steeling herself a little.

"Kate! Are you sure?" One of the other researchers asks. "If you do that,"

"A promise is a promise." Kate says firmly. "In order to save Presea, speak to a dwarf named Altessa who lives deep in Gaoracchia forest."

"There are dwarves in this world, too?" Lloyd looks thrilled.

"...You seem surprised." Piers points out.

"Dirk's the only dwarf I've ever heard of." Lloyd points out. "As far as I knew, he's the only dwarf left."

"He and I participated in this experiment by order of the Pope." Kate says.

"Sheesh, not that pathetic old man again." Zelos complains of pope involvement. Daichi is looking around the laboratory with a mix of disgust and discomfort on his face. Daichi's not the only one, as this place falls under Aurian's 'too many people in too small a space'.

"...Don't call him a pathetic old man!" Kate snaps at Zelos.

"Oh, my." Zelos smirks. "That's unusual, a half-elf siding with the Pope."

"I'm... not siding with him." Kate turns away from Zelos. "Anyway, have Altessa repair Presea's Key Crest."

"...Seems that way to me." Daichi glassesflashes, then he realizes and glares at Piers for getting the motion stuck in his mind. Kate glares at him.

"Lloyd, can't you fix it?" Colette asks, peering at Presea's Key Crest.

"... To be honest, I can't even tell the difference between this and a normal Key Crest. It'd probably be faster to search for that dwarf, Altessa." Lloyd shrugs. Daichi just stares back at her despondently.

"Then it's settled. Shall we head for Gaoracchia Forest?" Sheena asks.

"First!" Lloyd spins back about. "Has an arrogant man named Kratos been here lately?" Kate blinks.

"Ah, that handsome man." Kate says. Lloyd looks mildly disturbed. "Yes, he's been here. He seems to be looking for adamantite, which was widely used by dwarves..."

"Wait, Adamantite?" Lloyd blinks from his WTF look. Piers looks to Lloyd, curious. "You mean scrap diamond used to sharpen crafting tools?" Lloyd asks, looking a bit confused.

"..." Piers blinks. "You know about that?" He sounds mildly shocked.

Lloyd casually hits him on the shoulder. "I've never seen it, but, 'raised by a dwarf' mean anything?"

"Only a scrap diamond that is transformed into a special state by strengthening its atomic structure is called adamantite. It's a product of ancient magitechnology and no longer exists." Raine says, rather like she'd read it somewhere.

"...So it's really rare?" Daichi asks. "Wonder why Kratos is looking for it..." He muses.

"Not even at the Imperial Research Academy?" Colette blinks at the 'no longer exists' comment.

"Yes. But I heard that Kratos produced some here." Kate says. She looks a little wistful.

"What?" Raine looks like she wants to find some.

"...So, Kratos produced some material that hasn't been produced in centuries, using a method just as old and that has been lost..." Daichi mumbles.

"There is a machine, here at the academy, that is said to have been used to refine adamantite during the Ancient War." Kate corrects Daichi. "I heard it doesn't work anymore, but Kratos repaired it and produced something that was probably adamantite. They were going insane upstairs."

"...Okay. Then how did he know how to repair the machine? It's still batshit insane." Daichi mutters.

"Maybe... the people he works for..." Lloyd mutters, scowling at the floor. "But what does he need adamantite for?"

"It's likely that he's crafting something, but..." Raine looks at the basement door, then turns around. Wanted status and all that.

"..." Piers stares at the door just as longingly.

"What is he up to...?" Lloyd mutters, then puts a big old grin on. "Thanks, Kate. We'll be going to Altessa's now." Lloyd heads out.

* * *

Yay double cameo! :D


	39. Grumpy Mages

February 7th

* * *

"Whoa...This place is creepy." Lloyd eyes the massive trees. They were tall enough, and foliaged enough, that barely any light got down to them.

"Wow!" Colette cheers. "It's dark."

"Colette, you're awfully cheery..." Zelos points out.

"Sorry." Colette giggles. Aurian doesn't look very thrilled with going into this forest.

"Nothing wrong with being cheery." Piers points out.

"I'm just sayin' her words and tone were... slightly mismatched." Zelos shrugs. And five armored men come out of the forest. It's the Papal Knights again. "Annnd... It's the Papal Knights..." Zelos's amusement cuts off.

"Zelos, the Chosen. You are in the way of the Pope." The lead knight says.

"No we're not. The pope isn't here, silly." Piers points out pedantically. The Papal knights stare at him, but he's there not their target.

"Yeah, yeah. Known that for years." Zelos waves it off.

"Then that makes things simple. It is time for you to-" Aurian mutters something, and then blood sprays from the joints in their armor as they give gurgled cries and fall. Genis stares at her as she looks sourly at the forest, and walks past the crumpled men.

"...Was..." Daichi looks pale. "Was that Aurian?"

"Yes." Genis blinks. "I think... It was a small wind blade inside their armor. Nothing big enough to be an actual spell, but..." Aurian turns and stares very blankly at them.

"Wind mages are scary." Lloyd decides.

"I agree." Daichi says, shivering, walking on.

"And hopefully we can get through here before more of them come." Sheena looks at the dead, then hurried after Aurian.

"Maybe they'll see what happened to them and change their mind?" Colette asks hopefully.

"Not likely." Zelos shrugs as they continue walking in the Forest.

"Yeah. Once a human sets his or her mind on something, that's it..." Daichi mutters.

"I'm pretty sure that can be said of anyone." Raine says.

"True..." Daichi admits. Aurian's gotten lights in the air again, and it definitely seems like she really doesn't like the dark. Lloyd finds a Sorcerer's Ring changer-cloner, and gets another ring.

"... It's a lamp." Lloyd blinks at the golden glow the ring gave off.

"... What do we use a lamp for?" Colette blinks. Given that the sorcerer's ring had given then odd, but useful functions like fire-balls, lightning-balls, water-sprays and shrinking to a size that wouldn't break spider webs, a lamp was a bit of a curveball.

"Maybe it gets darker?" Piers offers. Aurian squeaks, and in retaliation to the guessed darkness ahead, her light-globes get brighter.

"There may be plants that react strongly to light ahead." Raine offers a different idea.

Piers nods. "That's another possibility. There could also be vampires or something."

Genis makes a face. "Optimistic today, aren't you?" Aurian's muttering that any vampire that shows up is going to get a _Photon_ shoved down his throat.

"Let's get moving!" Lloyd cheers, picking the right path.

"Just relaying the possibilities." Piers glassesflashes. Shikka shifts into lion form, stretching, walking next to Aurian. He rises to her chest.

* * *

February 8th

* * *

Due to the fact that they'd run into several groups of ghosts, zombies, undead trees, and strange creatures holding coffins on their backs that opened up to let massive paws and tails out to strike, they decided against sleeping in the forest, and got themselves wired on caffeine instead.

Colette pauses, tilting her head. "I hear something..." Colette announces. "Footsteps from far away..."

"I don't hear anything." Zelos reports as they all stop and listen. They're in a half-clearing and it looks like the forest's thinning.

"...I hear it too." Daichi says.

"Me too..." Shikka comments, his voice a bit gruff.

"Armor." Aurian adds to it, her ears twitching.

"Well.. Shikka does turn into a lion, Elves have better senses, and Daichi and Colette are angels..." Raine says.

"Yes, definitely armor and footsteps. There are lots of them." Colette says. "It's coming from that direction." Colette points over to where Sheena, and Presea, said that Altessa lived.

"That can't be good." Lloyd mutters.

"..." Daichi frowns slightly. "Not good at all..."

"Corrine, go look." Sheena summons the fox and sends it out. From one of the trees off to the side, came the blue haired convict with the nice manners. Shikka is behind of the party. The lion has laid himself down, watching the convict. Everyone half-draws toward him.

"It's that guy from the Meltokio sewer!" Genis yelps.

"Man, it's just one thing after another with the Pope! Am I really that much of a problem to him?" Zelos sighs.

"I do not wish to fight you." The man holds his hands up near his chest and opens them palm out to them. "I just want to speak with that girl." He nods at Presea.

"..." Daichi steps slightly to the side as he was standing in front of Genis and Presea.

"With Presea?" Lloyd looks confused. Presea stares blankly at Daichi as if to ask why he thinks he needs to stand there.

"You've got to be kidding!" Genis flails, and climbs onto Daichi's shoulders. "Or did you forget that you tried to kill us?"

"I cannot speak for any others, however, I, at least, never intended to take your lives. My orders were to retrieve a girl named Colette." The convict says.

"And if you think we're gonna let ya take her, ya got another thing coming!" Daichi growls.

"...Me?" Colette tilts her head.

"I will do you no harm." The convict raises his hands again. "I wish to speak with Presea." Daichi looks up to Genis, then back at the convict, frowning slightly. He steps back to his original position. Lloyd frowns at the convict, then tilts his head.

"Colette, stand on the other side of the group... Shikka, between Presea and Colette. Hope you don't mind us listening in on what you want to say." Lloyd takes a half step back so that the convict can see Presea clearly. Presea stares blankly at him. Colette moves as Lloyd asked. Shikka repositions himself as instructed. Daichi and Genis are still within range.

"An Exsphere?" It looked like the man was going to say something else before his eyes caught on that. "You are yet another victim?" He sounds surprised and angry, and with that combination to his voice and the half step he took, Presea drew her ax, taking a sense of danger from him.

Genis flails on Daichi's shoulders. "Presea's in danger!"

Daichi stumbles slightly at the flailing. "Watch it!"

"I don't know what the heck is going on." Lloyd says, as Presea keeps her ax between her and the convict, who was simply staring at her. "But let's just knock him out or something." Shikka rises to his paws, growling slightly.

Lloyd darts in, intent of giving the tall man a hard knock to the head, but discovered that when the man had raised his hands in a 'I am unarmed' gesture, it was mostly because he didn't use weapons. Lloyd grunted in surprise as the convict brought his leg up and blocked the blunt-strike with a piece of metal strapped to his shin, greaves. Shikka roars, pouncing the convict, forepaws on his shoulders. The convict grunts, keeping his shackled wrists between his neck and the lion.

"It would be best to stay where you are, good sir, lest my fangs or claws slip." Shikka growls. The man blinks, looking a bit shocked, before his feet catch Shikka in the gut to knock the lion off him. The lion is thrown head-over-tail to the ground. Piers runs over to make sure the lion isn't injured. The man gets to his feet in time for Aurian to indicate him.

"_God's Breath_." the convict staggers like one of the larger trees they'd seen had dropped on him, then falls over. Piers uses a _ply_ on the lion. Shikka rises to his paws, shaking off. Genis lowers his Kendama.

"That was anti climatic." Genis mutters.

"He sounds like he has reasons for his actions. Perhaps we should take him prisoner? I'm sure he has much to tell us." Raine comments.

Corrine returns. "Sheena! There are a lot of soldiers and they're all coming this way! Run away, quickly!"

Daichi looks up at Genis. "I guess it was."

"Looks like Colette was right." Sheena says.

"The footsteps... keep getting louder." Colette warns.

"Uhh... Shouldn't we get out of here?" Zelos points out.

"But the Papal knights are waiting for us if we go back to Sybak." Lloyd points out.

"... It looks like we have no choice." Sheena sighs. "I'll take you to the village of Mizuho."

"Whoa there, Sheena." Zelos gives her a little confused smirk. "Isn't Mizuho a hidden village, kept secret from outsiders?"

"But we'll be trapped from both sides if we don't do something. There's nothing we can do but take shelter in the village" Sheena retorts.

"Okay. Please show us the way, Sheena." Lloyd says.

"Hey, Zelos, carry the big guy for us." Sheena demands.

"Me? You want me to carry this ogre by myself? Are you kidding me?" Zelos protests. He does wander over to eye the unconscious convict.

"Here, I'll help." Colette chirps, heading over. "Zelos will have a hard time by himself."

"Aww, you're so nice, Colette~!" Zelos cheers up. "We Chosens have to look out for each other, right?" Two rocks come flying from the direction of Daichi and Genis. Both males look innocent.

"Yeah!" Colette agrees with a smile. Zelos ducks by crouching to pick the man up. Colette gets one hand under the convict's gut, and stands.

"Oh, he's lighter than I thought." Colette's got her hand by her shoulder, and the convict draped over her hand. "I can carry him myself."

"Haha... I see.." Zelos looks unnerved.

"Men are so useless these days." Raine comments.

"...Heeey..." Daichi looks hurt. "That cut deep, professor..."

"Come on, we need to go!" Sheena says, starting to lead away.

* * *

February 9th

* * *

Mizuho is a small village, not much larger than Iselia, although the architecture type is definitely far different. Everything is single story, and at the moment, no one seems to be around.

"It's quiet..." Shikka points out, still a lion.

"Too quiet." Piers finishes off the cliché. That's when a blue ninja appears.

"Sheena!" He looks over the group. "What is the meaning of this? How could you bring outsiders into the village?" There's the feeling of many people watching now.

"I'm prepared to accept my punishment. Inform the Vice-Chief. I've brought the travelers from Sylvarant." Sheena says.

"..." Daichi and Piers shudder jointly at that feeling. Aurian still looks grumpy.

"From Sylvarant? You are from the dying world of Sylvarant?" the blue ninja eyes the party.

"Well, except for me and the rosebud." Zelos shrugs.

Piers shifts. "Yeah. Sure. We're from Sylvarant."

"I'm not." The lion rumbles.

"I see." Shikka gets a blink. "Sheena, come with me. The rest of you, wait in front of the Chief's house." Sheena nods, following Blue Ninja toward the house with a small stream moat. Lloyd looks slightly worried as he follows her, having heard the word 'punishment', but he stops before the bridge with the rest of them.

Piers looks around. "Nice village..." There's a muttered 'thank you' from somewhere. The convict groans.

"Oh! I think he's waking up!" Colette puts him down.

Piers blinks. "You're welcome...?" Daichi shifts his grip on his axe, ready to stand on the convicts legs of necessary. The man wakes, then carefully gets his legs under him. The party's lightly ringed him.

"Wh-where ... Am I?"

"Have a headache?" Aurian mutters.

"...You're worst nightmare." Piers has stood so that the shadows inflect impressively. The man simply blinks at him, as Piers is standing half behind Daichi for shadow.

"You're our prisoner." Lloyd says, watching as the door to the chief's place slides open. "Don't try anything funny."

The convict looks back at Lloyd. "I like to think that I'm smart enough not to start trouble when I don't understand the situation."

Piers slaps Lloyd on the shoulder. "You just got burned."

"Whatever." Lloyd shrugs. "Think we can leave him here with the ninjas?" Lloyd looks about. "I don't really want to bring him in if he's not on our side..."

"I can keep him from moving for an hour, at least." Aurian mutters.

"... will Raine be needed to get him moving again?" Lloyd asks. Everyone looks to Aurian.

"Maybe if he doesn't lie down first. Or if he struggles." Aurian tilts her head. "... he might get another concussion." the convict blinks at her, registers her as the mage who knocked him out last time, then does so. "_Gravity_." Aurian mutters, and the man grunts as he's pressed into the earth.

"Nifty." Piers comments. "I had a friend who had a spell like that, but with explosions."

"Altered it." Aurian mutters. "Usually sends them flying up... and up.. then slams down again. Or other directions. Very fun."

"... okay..." Lloyd makes it in his mind that he didn't want to fight the mage. Zelos looks like he's made the same connection.

"The Vice-Chief is ready to see you." Blue Ninja is watching them from the doorway of the Chief's house. They all go inside.

"Traveler's from Sylvarant, you may enter." They're in a hall before a room on the side. There's a note taped to the wall that tells them to take their shoes off.

"... Thank you." Lloyd says, taking his shoes off. Aurian has a little trouble but manages. The rest of the party does the same. It's revealed, through many darned holes, that Daichi doesn't buy new socks unless necessary. Raine mutters about fixing that. Even Lloyd's don't look that bad. They take seats on cushions, imitating the way the man across a small table and Sheena sat. There was a corner of the room that was curtained off.

"Our leader, Chief Igaguri, is ill." the man says. "I, the Vice-Chief, Tiga, shall speak on his behalf." Daichi kneels with a slight difficulty. "Because Sheena failed to kill you, we, the people of Mizuho, now face persecution from the Tethe'Alla Royal Family and the Church of Martel." Tiga says.

Lloyd blinks. "Is that true?" He seems to be trying not to use his short-hand speech. Shikka is sitting at, more or less, attention, tail twitching.

"Yes. At least from what I've heard. Now I have a question." Tiga says. "People of Sylvarant, what do you plan to do in Tethe'Alla, the land of your enemies?"

"I've been thinking about that for a long time. Someone asked me why I came all the way to Tethe'Alla...what it is that I want to do. I want a world where everyone can have a normal life. I'm tired of people having to become sacrifices." Lloyd's voice rises a little. "I'm tired of discrimination. I'm tired of people becoming victims. I'm tired of it all." Daichi and Piers face palm in unison.

Tiga gives a tiny smile. "You are an idealist. The worlds of Tethe'Alla and Sylvarant flourish only by victimizing the others. So long as that structure remains the same, anything you say is mere sophistry."

"I don't know what that word is, but then we need to change that structure! This world was made by that Yggdrasill guy, right?" Lloyd stands. "If a human or elf built this, then we should be able to change it as well!"

"Lloyd talks too much..." Daichi mumbles.

Genis nods, but he's got a happy little smile on his face. "Yeah, but he's _our_ over-talkative Lloyd."

Tiga finds Lloyd's words amusing, for he laughs. "You speak like the hero, Mithos. He was a sublime idealist. He ended the Ancient War by insisting there was a way for the two warring countries to coexist in peace. Are you saying you can become the next Mithos?"

"If he dyes his hair blond, he'll look like Mithos." Daichi points out.

"No, Mithos's hair was longer." Genis retorts. "Shoulder length. Bleach and grow out."

Lloyd's ignoring them. "I'm not Mithos. I want to save the two worlds my way, with the help of my friends."

"Or a wig." Piers joins in. Tiga and Lloyd are ignoring them, although Colette's trying not to giggle and Sheena's face palmed. Zelos looks amused.

"...I see. In other words, you aren't worried about following past methods." Tiga says, before closing his eyes in thought. He opened them again. "Well then, we shall search for a new path as well." Daichi, Genis and Piers look proud of their muted conversation.

Sheena blinks, standing. "Vice-Chief, do you mean..."

"Yes." Tiga nods. "We will use our information network to aid you. In return, when the path of prosperity for both worlds has been found, we wish to move our people to Sylvarant."

"But I don't have any right to decide something like that." Lloyd blinks.

"All we need is for you to aid us in our move." Tiga says.

"...Is everyone okay with us joining forces with the people of Mizuho?" Lloyd asks, watching them.

"If it will change the relationship of the two worlds." Colette smiles her 'I'm good with it.'

"I have no objections, sir Lloyd." Shikka comments. Lloyd turns a little pink at the 'sir' bit.

"Well, it doesn't sound like a bad deal." Raine shrugs.

"I don't care either way?" Aurian blinks.

"Might as well. If it'll help." Daichi comments.

"Let's hurry up and decide, so we can go rescue Presea." Genis says. Presea stares blankly.

"What have we got to lose?" Piers asks.

"As long as Tethe'Alla is safe, I don't care what you guys do." Zelos says, shrugging.

"Okay then, it's settled." Lloyd grins at Tiga. "We're going to look for a way to change the two worlds. Let's work together."

"Agreed." Tiga and Lloyd shake. "Then I hereby order Sheena to continue to accompany you. This time, however, not just as an observer, but as a representative. Make us proud."

"Yes, sir!" Sheena says.

"But Tiga, you sure you wanna turn the Royals and the Church against you like that?" Zelos asks.

"How about if I ask you?" Tiga turns the questioning about. "Given a choice between the forces which wish to sacrifice one of the worlds, and the force that wishes to preserve both worlds, which would you side with?"

Zelos smirks a little. "I'd like to say, 'the one that's likely to win,' but I suppose I'd want to help the side that wants to preserve both worlds."

"Exactly." Tiga tells him. "Now, the first thing we shall do is devote all our resources to locating the Rheairds. Fortunately, it appears that Sheena attached a guardian to the Rheairds, so we should be able to locate them shortly."

"A guardian? like a tracker?" Piers asks. Due to circulation problems, Aurian falls over with a small squeak. Everyone glances at her for a moment while she gets back to sitting.

"Yes, exactly. We'll find it, scout the location, and let you know when what you're in for before you charge in." Tiga says.

"Understood." Lloyd's grinning. "Thank you for your help."

"Flying would be a plus..." Piers mumbles. "Make things a lot easier." Aurian makes a small noise of agreement as everyone gets to their feet to go put their shoes on and leave. Zelos is watching Lloyd with an unreadable expression.

"Is he for real...?" Zelos mutters while pulling his shoes on.

"...We still have a convict to talk to." Shikka points out. Lloyd nods, and they loosely circle the man. He's still stuck to the ground. Lloyd watches him for a moment, then Aurian lets him up. She looks a little drained, but not too much.

"What's your name?" Lloyd asks as the man gets to his feet slowly.

"...Regal." the convict says. Piers throws an Orange Gel at Aurian. It hits her in the face first, but she fumbles to catch it and shoves it in her mouth, chewing slowly.

"Regal, huh?" Lloyd tilts his head, but isn't going to ask if Regal's supposed to be an adjective rather than a name. "I'm sorry, but we're gonna have to keep you prisoner for a bit longer."

"Lloyd." Zelos waves his hand a little, smirking. "How about lettin' pops here fight, too?"

"...How do we know that we can trust him, Sir Wilder?" Shikka asks of Zelos.

"Exactly." Genis is glaring slightly at Regal.

"He has business with Presea, right?" Zelos asks. "Then, he's not going to try anything before he gets a chance to speak with her, you know? And she's such a talkative little one, so that's not going to be until Altessa's."

"..." Shikka shrugs. Daichi is watching both Zelos and Regal suspiciously.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea." Raine mutters, eyeing Regal.

"Raine!" Genis protests.

"I dunno about this, but I won't make a fuss." Sheena shrugs. "I also started off as your enemy."

"That's true." Piers says.

"We can make sure he behaves by keeping Presea on the other side of the party, with Colette, from him." Aurian points out, although it sounds like she's not quite done eating the orange gel. "Give him no chances to talk to her."

"..." Daichi looks as though he's about to say something, but decides against it, closing his mouth.

"...Well?" Lloyd asks Regal. "Will you fight alongside us for now?"

Regal watches them all for a little bit, then nods. "All right. I swear upon my good name, and these shackles that bind me, I shall not betray you." He shakes the bindings a little.

"If you do anything even the slightest bit suspicious, I'll burn you to a crisp, got it?" Genis promises sulkily.

"...But you're a convict. Surely your name is no longer good?" Piers points out. Regal gives him a blank stare.

"Well, then, welcome to your group, Regal!" Colette smiles.

"We should rest here for the night." Sheena says, looking at the darkening sky then about. "The shop's over there, and the inn's over here. There's no tavern." She adds the last to Daichi before leading toward the inn.

Daichi blinks. "Why does the last bit apply only to me?" He wonders aloud.

"Because the first place you tend to go in any city is a tavern." Sheena points out. "Oh, and Zelos, don't flirt with anyone. You might get knifed."

Zelos blinks. "Right."

Daichi coughs. "S'pose so..."

* * *

hehehehe


	40. Trees and Dwarves

February 10th

After breakfasting and washing up a bit, they exit Mizuho. The Blue Ninja was waiting for them.

"It seems the pursuers have left the forest. You should hurry." He tells them, then leaves for further into the village.

"All right, let's head for Altessa's place right away." Lloyd says, looking to Sheena to guide them back.

"...I... want to go home to my village." Presea says.

"Ah, right..." Lloyd scratches the back of his head. "Ozette first, then."

"...Which way, then?" Piers says, looking about.

"We have to go through the forest either way." Sheena says. "Ozette is near Altessa's place."

"Yes, Presea's parents are probably worried about her." Raine says. "We should head to Ozette first."

"I agree. It would not do to keep Lady Presea waiting." Shikka comments.

They head through the forest with no problems from anything other than monsters. Ozette is built half into an ancient tree, the ground and roots forming walkways to buildings built against it. The moment they step past the sign, Presea runs ahead.

"Lloyd! We have to follow her! Hurry up!" Genis says, running ahead before getting an answer.

"Huh?" Lloyd had been staring at the tree root and not noticed that Presea'd run off. "Yeah..." They start after Genis, who was losing to Presea's pace. Lloyd gets hailed by a random girl.

"Have you heard of the handsome swordsman staying at this village lately? He seems to be looking for a special kind of firewood."

"Special... firewood?" Lloyd's wondering why they're talking to him, but slows. Daichi nearly walks into the back of Lloyd.

"Sorry." Lloyd gets out of the way.

"He said something about needing heat that could even melt the legendary Aionis." The girl says.

"Aionis?" Regal speaks up, also stopping. "Now this sounds like something from a fairy tale."

Daichi stops also. "The Aionis? That magic rock thingy?"

"Is that what it is?" Lloyd asks.

"A material that Mithos the Hero received from the Goddess Martel. It's used to make equipment for gods. It's an imaginary material that doesn't exist." Raine says, also stopping. "That's what I've read."

"Ore. Therefore, rock." Daichi looks happy he was right. "And, to be honest, I wouldn't put it past our luck that this 'imaginary' material is real. A lot of things are ass backwards."

"Hmmm. And he's looking for firewood that could melt that? He sure is weird." Lloyd decides.

The girl gets irritated. "Hey! Don't make fun of Kratos!"

"... Kratos?" Lloyd's expression flat-lines. "Yeah, he's weird." The girl stomps off. Daichi puts a hand on Lloyd's shoulder.

"You're such a hit with the girls." He says, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"She didn't actually hit him though." Aurian points out.

"Why is he looking for that kind of firewood?" Colette asks.

"Along with the adamantite incident, I wonder what he is doing..." Raine mutters.

"If all these elements are legendary, surely Cruxis would have a lot of them stocked...?" Piers comments.

"One would have thought so." Shikka says, coming to the same conclusion as Piers.

"... I'm concerned about it, but... we've got more important things to do than trying to stalk Kratos." Lloyd says. "But if we hear anything, let's pay attention to it. Presea's first right now." Lloyd starts for where Genis had vanished too. Everyone else follows. Genis is waiting for them around the corner and by the general store.

"This way." He's standing by a large root that heads down a short cliff face.

"Someone had his sugar this morning..." Daichi comments. Everyone follows Genis down the root toward a small single story house.

"...thank you." A vaguely familiar voice that made Aurian stop cold, so Lloyd had to go faster to look. It's the purple haired man with orange glasses and shield-like cloak again. "Hmm?" He notices them. "Are these guests as well?"

"... Porters..." Presea says slowly.

"Oh, I see..." He eyes them. Daichi freezes, blinking. He mutters something. Aurian's hiding behind Shikka.

"Presea! We have to make a Key Crest for you!" Genis says.

"My job awaits... Goodbye..." Presea turns and enters her house.

"Only Presea can retrieve the sacred wood used in the ritual at the church." the purple haired man tells them. "I'm quite pleased that she has finally returned." the man gives a little cackle, and walks out of town via the cleared path to their left. Piers snrks. Daichi shudders slightly.

"That man..." Raine watches him. "He's a half-elf."

"Didn't we see him in Meltokio?" Colette asks. "I thought I saw him... but that was when I couldn't do anything, so..."

"...Lord Rhodylee." Daichi mutters.

"Rodyle." Aurian corrects his pronunciation with a small whimper.

"He's creepy." Lloyd nods.

"I agree. But...uh...I gotta say that I feel sorry for the guy. I mean he has to deal with the fact that there are magnificent specimens of males around like me." Zelos smirks.

"I'd say you two are on the same level." Genis tells him.

"He's a Desian." Daichi states on the end of that delightful conversation.

"... I heard that, you little twerp!" Zelos scowls at Genis.

"So, definitely creepy." Lloyd says.

"More than creepy." Daichi grumbles.

"... At any rate... We should have a talk with Presea." Regal says carefully, from the back of the group.

"... Yeah." Lloyd heads up to the house. The doors unlocked. "... Presea?" Lloyd watches the pinkette go from a dusty kitchen, the only clean parts the places where she's carefully making food, to another room, and then back. Aurian squeaks as Lloyd pushes the door open wider, covering her nose and mouth.

Daichi does the same. "Oh, by the goddess...That smell...It's too familiar..." The floor's as coated in dust as everything else, the clear spots in the size of Presea's boots, and the rough trail from the room to the kitchen. Lloyd pulls his collar up over his nose while Aurian heads back out, trembling like she's going to have some sort of break down.

"Look!" Colette points that the other room is a bedroom. Raine heads in, her hand over her nose and mouth as the smell gets worse. Daichi and Piers follow Raine. Presea passes them again with a shallow bowl of soup, which she leaves next to the decaying head of a body in the bed.

"Oh my..." Raine chokes out. "How horrible."

"What the..." Zelos had followed them as well. "This is not cool." He sounds completely serious.

"I..." Piers looks like he's going to throw up. "I-I don't think Presea realizes yet..." He chokes out.

"How could this happen?" Sheena asks, using one of her ribbon's tails to cover her mouth. Presea waits for a few minutes, then takes the bowl back to the sink.

"I agree, Piers." Raine says. "Most likely the effect of Exspheres' parasitism... She probably has no idea." The look of the body has it being dead for quite some time. Long enough bugs aren't trying to eat it so much anymore.

Daichi has his shirt over his nose. "Judging by the decay, he's been gone a long time... At least more than a year..."

"That's... delightful to hear you know such things." Zelos says.

"How could that..." Genis mumbles.

"Presea." Regal turns to the pinkette. "Are you not coming with us?"

"I must... do my job.." Presea doesn't pause in walking about and gathering things.

"...Shaddup, Wilder. I did do this type of thing for 60 years." Daichi scowls under his shirt.

"... That's great." Zelos mumbles. "I hope it paid well."

"... Let's leave Presea here for now." Raine says, scowling at the two males as if to say 'start a fight here, and I'll get Presea to knock you out of it.'

"..." Daichi shows an unbelievable amount of restraint by not breaking Zelos' face.

"Here?" Lloyd almost shouts it. he then has to inhale a lot, and start s coughing.

"If we try to move her, she will just fight back." Raine says. "Let's go see Altessa by ourselves to ask him about repairing the Key Crest."

"... yeah." Lloyd agrees after his coughing fit, turning to head out. Piers gets a respectable distance and throws up into a hollow tree stump. Aurian's sitting in the fetal position with her arms over her head, shaking. Almost to the door, and Colette trips.

"Colette? Are you all right?" Lloyd helps her up, coughing from the dust and the smell.

"...Ahh! Y...yeah. I stumbled. Hehe. I'm clumsy." Colette's squeak is a bit random. Shikka is lying by Aurian in Lion form. Daichi gulps down fresh air.

"Are you hurt?" Lloyd asks.

"No, I'm fine." Colette says, as they start walking back up to Ozette. "...I'm fine..." It's late, so they head back toward the Inn.

February 11th

Altessa's house is built into a cliff face, a window, door and lantern proclaiming that it was there. Lloyd's half bouncing on his heels in excitement, imagining a dwarf with similar temperament to his dad.

"I have a sense that disappointment is ahead." Piers mutters to himself.

"What, I'm not allowed to be happy?" Lloyd makes a face at Piers before knocking on the door.

"Of course you're allowed to be." Piers states. "Just not when you're around us." Whatever they were expecting, a green haired girl in a short black and white dress and matching hat was not it by Lloyd's double blink. She had a familiar face shape to Colette.

"Ha ha ha..." Lloyd mutters, blinking at the girl who blankly looks at him.

"WHO IS IT?" Cue massive amounts of double taking as a very mechanical voice comes from her.

"Uh..." Lloyd blinks. "Excuse us. We've heard that there is a dwarf living here. Is there any chance we could see him?"

"YOU DESIRE A MEETING WITH MASTER ALTESSA." Everyone blinks as the girl opens the door further. "PLEASE COME INSIDE." There's much stumbling as everyone tries to get inside. Daichi ducks slightly under the frame. Aurian whacks her face twice, the frame being just high enough that it's eye level, then figures out ducking, holding her head. the girl leads the way to a lower level in a cut-stone home, where a very short man is working. Lloyd's not getting the same friendly vibes off this place as he does at home.

"Who are you people?" the dwarf asks, glowering a little at them.

"My name is Lloyd." Lloyd says, sticking his hands into his pockets and not looking to enthusiastic now. "We've come in regards to Presea." The dwarf stiffens. "We heard about you from Kate in Sybak."

"... Leave!" Altessa barks.

"...Well, someone changed their tone." Daichi comments.

"What?" Lloyd blinks at Altessa.

"I don't want anything more to do with that girl!" Altessa picks up a work hammer and looks like he's going to throw it. "Get out of here!" Lloyd wisely turns about and prepares to do so.

"..." Daichi mutters something under his breath. They only go as far as to stand before the door, though.

"What was all that about?" Lloyd is grumpy.

"I APPOLOGIZE." the girl's there again. "THE MASTER DOES NOT WANT TO GET INVOLVED WITH PRESEA."

"Why?" Genis is grumpy that someone doesn't want to help his girlfriend-to-be. "Doesn't he care if she dies?"

"..." Piers looks between the green haired girl, Genis and Altessa.

"IT IS NOT THAT. IT IS BECAUSE THE MASTER REGRETS WHAT HE HAS DONE." the girl says.

"Then please, save Presea!" Colette pleads. "All she needs is for her Key Crest to be fixed."

"Regret what he's done? He's only done this to one person..." Daichi mutters. the girl gives them a blank look, which isn't hard for her, because she looks as soulless as Presea, if not more.

"... I DO NOT KNOW IF THAT WOULD TRULY BE IN HER BEST INTEREST." she says to Colette's comment of fixing Presea.

"...How would saving someone not be in their best interest?" Piers asks.

"How is leaving her in an emotionless state, waiting to die, in her best interest? How could anything be worse?" Lloyd wants to know.

The girl watches them. "IF YOU ARE THAT COMMITTED, THEN YOU SHOULD SEARCH FOR INHIBITOR ORE."

Piers looks to Lloyd. "Does the inhibitor ore have anything to do with Key Crests?" He asks the twinblade.

"How about... everything? Without the ore, it's not a Key Crest." Lloyd says, running his hand through his hair. "Her Key Crest isn't made of Inhibitor Ore...?"

"So, that means it's screwed, right?" Daichi butts in.

"... Yeah." Lloyd looks worried. "It's not actually a crest, so... it's basically doing nothing for her. Like when Aurian tried using just runes... It doesn't help any. I don't know if it makes it worse, but.. sounds like it does."

"CORRECT." The girl nods. "HER CREST IS-"

"Tabatha!" Altessa roars. "What are you doing? Get rid of them!"

"Well, we indirectly have what we came for." Piers comments. "We just need to find some inhibitor ore."

"I APOLOGIZE, I MUST RETURN. PLEASE COME BACK AGAIN. I WILL ATTEMPT TO PERSUADE HIM." Tabatha shoes them out of the house. They go without much of a fuss, Aurian looking quite pleased to be out of the underground.

"Where can we find inhibitor ore?" Colette asks.

"That's probably gonna be one of the harder questions." Piers asks. "Unless the Tethe'Allans know...?" He looks to Regal, Sheena and Zelos.

"Mizuho could find the information, but... Rheairds are the priority." Sheena shrugs. Zelos tilts his head like he's thinking.

"I've heard it's mined in the mountain range that extends between Altamira and the Ymir Forest. I would like to help if you're going to create a Key Crest for Presea. I can lead you to the mine." Regal says.

"Just what is your relation to Presea, anyway?" Lloyd asks, frowning a little at Regal.

"There is none." Regal says simply.

"...then how do you know of her, Sir Convict?" Shikka asks. Regal simply stares at him blankly.

"..." Lloyd sighs. "Well, either way, you haven't done anything suspicious so far." Lloyd says, stretching. "You're welcome to come with us. But we're still watching you." Shikka stares back. There's a hint of cat watching mouse.

"Inhibitor ore is found relatively near the surface of the Exsphere mine. The mine I know of is across the sea from here, on the southern continent." Regal says.

"You said Altamira, right?" Zelos perks. "That place is awesome! Let's stop by on the way!"

"Exsphere mine...?" Daichi sounds a bit confused.

"Raw Exspheres come from the earth." Regal shrugs a little awkwardly. "Where they go after..."

Daichi blinks as if something clicked in his mind. He pulls a gemstone from his pocket. "So that's what this is?" Regal holds his hand out so he can have a look. Sheena's beating on Zelos for wanting to go to a 'gaudy resort' while they're busy trying to save people. Daichi places it in Regal's hand. "I swiped it from the Iselia ranch because it looked valuable." He answers Lloyd's questioning look.

"... Yes, this is a raw Exsphere." Regal hands it back. Something clicks to Raine.

"The sea?" she goes a bit green. "We're going out to sea again?"

Shikka flinches slightly. "W-We are?" He whimpers slightly.

"...?" Regal glances at Shikka, then nods slightly.

"Yeah! Let's hurry." Colette skips toward Ozette. Zelos draws up toward Regal at the back of the group as everyone starts to follow.

"...By the way, this has been bugging me for a while now." Zelos drawls. "Haven't we met somewhere?" Regal ignores them and moves into the group. "Fine, ignore me." Zelos rolls his eyes. "Not very friendly, are ya?"

"Well, we are treating him with great suspicion, Sir Wilder. I fear that you would be the same in Sir Convict's position." Shikka comments. Zelos shrugs, but any comment is cut off because Lloyd's fallen over.

"... crap." Raine gives Aurian a look that says she's going to be asking how the elf knows that word after Lloyd's feeling better. Daichi looks a bit suspicious, helping Lloyd to his feet. Lloyd promptly walks into a tree.

"He's sick again." Genis sighs. Daichi starts to steer Lloyd. Lloyd's insisting that the way Daichi wants him to walk is in fact into the strange three-trunked trees, not away from them, and he really just wants to climb one. Daichi manages to keep Lloyd on the path. Barely.

"You could always just pick him up." Raine points out, checking Lloyd's forehead, although he does look feverish at this point.

"This happen often?" Zelos asks, looking a little confused.

"It's only happened twice while we've been travelling. He tried to throw himself out of a window." Piers comments. Daichi blinks and then picks Lloyd up. Very Easily.

"There was also the time when a bad flu hit Iselia." Genis says. "That's when he climbed up on the roof and tried jumping off."

"That was after I got sick and then better, right?" Colette blinks.

"Yep. It was also after one of the other kids died." Genis adds. "He was fine until you got better, and it's definitely not flu he got."

"Yeah. It's weird..." Daichi mutters, holding Lloyd's legs to stop him thrashing. Lloyd starts trying to eat Daichi's hair.

"..." Everyone sort of stares at them.

"... Well, it is Lloyd we're talking about here." Sheena shrugs.

"Weird's right on the dot." Genis nods.

Daichi starts flailing. "Agh...Quit it!"

"I think we should put him to sleep." Raine comments to Piers. "I would rather keep him awake, but... I'd also rather not walk through Ozette with him... acting like he is."

" Okay." Piers says. "Daichi, put him down."

"HE WON'T LET GO!" Aurian looks like she might start giggling soon, Zelos and Regal look awkwardly out of place, and Colette's covering giggles.

"You could always just whack him." Genis mimes whacking him upside the head. Lloyd has a good grip in Daichi's arm. And Daichi is shaking said arm repeatedly to get him off. And it's not working very well. That is, until Lloyd realizes that Daichi isn't holding onto him, let go on his own, and tries to dart for a tree to climb. Piers casts the _Sleep_ spell, making a lot of plushie sheep fall on Lloyd. Lloyd stops and tries catching them for a few seconds, after which he simply collapses.

"..." Daichi looks to Piers. He opens his mouth.

"Unless you want the same, not a word." Piers states. Daichi closes his mouth.

Raine checks to make sure Lloyd didn't injure himself with the fall. "He's out." Lloyd somehow managed to keep a plushie sheep.

"... Is that supposed to happen?" Genis eyes the sheep.

The plushies suddenly start wandering off, baaing. "No. It's not." Aurian decides she wants one.

"Then why...?" Genis asks. Aurian grabs one, then promptly falls asleep as well. the sheep starts trying to eat her hair.

"Don't question it. Just accept it." A sheep starts nibbling Genis' shoe. "And don't touch them with bare hands or skin."

"... How many are there?" Colette's got gloves on, so she pokes the sheep Aurian's half hugging to her face. That'd be the problem there.

"About 15." Piers answers, looking pissed off.

"What are we gonna doooo...?" Genis whines. "We can't let sleep-inducing sheep wander the countryside!"

"I think we should run along and pretend we had nothing to do with it." Zelos shrugs. "Or, catch a bunch of them to throw at people."

"...You just want them to trap hunnies, doncha." Daichi comments.

"No, though I could use them as a kink..." Zelos looks like he's thinking about it now.

"You are NOT using my sheep in some sort of weird fetish!" Piers turns on Zelos, glowing ominously.

"Oh, they're your sheep?" Zelos smirks. "If you go for that, okay man." Zelos does the wise thing and starts booking it for Ozette. Piers gives chase, casting _Deluge_ at the Chosen. Daichi face palms.

"I think we'd best keep a few, at least." Shikka comments. "They may come in handy."

"... It would be best to mention that Ozette is very... anti half-elf." Regal comments. "It might be a good idea to stop Piers from casting..."

"...If that's the case, we'll need one of these." Daichi plucks up a sheep after pulling on some gloves. He then ambushes Piers with it.

"... We knock too many people out, and we're going to look very ... bizarre." Raine sighs, carefully making Aurian let go of the sheep, and pulling the elf up. Raine's evidently strong enough, or Aurian is simply that light, for Raine to pick her up. Piers jolts awake after 10 minutes or so. Seems without direct contact, the condition wears off. Daichi and Shikka have the remaining sheep in a bag. Lloyd's starting to wake up from where they left him in the underbrush, and so Genis carefully gets one out and throws it off him.

"Baa!" The sheep wanders off to munch some grass. Lloyd falls still again.

"... Let's get going." Raine says, deciding that she should give Aurian to Shikka rather than look ridiculous carrying the elf. And Shikka carries the elf. Daichi retrieves the sheep and Lloyd, stuffing it in the bag with a surprised baa.

February 12th

Lloyd wakes up, blinking sleepily. Raine looks up from a book, about to reach over to change a wet washcloth. Daichi is slowly sitting up, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"...I remember something about sheep." Lloyd says, while Raine checks on him. He's fine now, the weirdo. Speaking of weird. The bag on Daichi's dresser flails a bit, making many baaing noises. Lloyd stares at it around Raine. "... That bag is making noises..."

"Really?" Daichi says, feigning sleepy ignorance. It baas again.

"I hear sheep." Lloyd frowns confusedly, before glancing at Raine. "Am I sick?"

"..." Raine gives him a look. "... Not anymore."

Piers wakes up at the baa. "You kept the sheep?"

"Yes. I did."

"Why?"

"Just in case we meet someone from the Cruxis again."

"What are we gonna do? Sheep them to death?"

"That was the plan!"

Lloyd looks at them, then at Raine. "Who made them crazy?"

Raine shakes her head. "Let's get breakfast."

"You did. Technically." Daichi states, pulling his boots on and following the two.

"... How?" Lloyd blinks, confused as he navigates the inn toward the kitchen.

"Sheep." Daichi states. "Piers' sleep spell somehow poofed up sheep." It's Regal who's working about, and the convict seems to be enjoying himself as he cooks. Genis is watching him suspiciously.

"He beat me to it." Genis shrugs.

"And how is it my fault?" Lloyd asks, taking a seat. He doesn't get coffee this morning.

"Because we only cast the spell so you would stop eating my hair!"

"So that's the funny taste..." Lloyd mumbles, watching Regal cook. He's still got his hands shackled.

"..." Daichi grumbles. A few minutes more, and they're all downstairs in varying stages of awake-ness, and Regal puts plates on the table, not passing them about due to obvious reasons of the awkwardness of him doing so. Daichi helps to pass the plates, trying not to stumble over his own boots. Regal nods his thanks and sets to eating. It's actually a rather high quality meal, which fits his manners rather than his appearance.

"Wow, Regal..." Piers says, slightly awed. "This is pretty good."

"Thank you." Regal says. Lloyd's agreeing with Piers, but he's too busy eating to voice it. Aurian's apparently eating half, and storing the other half. Daichi seems to be of the same impression of Lloyd, nodding his agreement.

February 14th

The third day on the boat, Aurian had inched into the corner, and Lloyd looked about.

"I'm bored." Piers looks at Lloyd.

"Thank you for sharing." He retorts, scathingly.

"You're welcome." Lloyd tells him.

"..." Piers just stares at the twinblade.

February 16th

"I'm bored." Lloyd's sprawled on the floor now.

It's Daichi that responds this time. "We heard you yesterday."

"Wasn't yesterday, it was two days ago." Lloyd retorts. Aurian's securely in a corner, and Raine's hunched up in the center of the floor.

Daichi glares at Lloyd. "Can I sheep him?" He asks. Shikka is huddled near Raine.

"There's a reason why you have a bag of sheep?" Lloyd blinks.

"We don't know if they have charges." Raine points out.

"We can just ask Piers to rechar..."

"Screw you."

"Maybe not..."

February 22nd

Around evening, the boat beaches itself. Raine's first out of the hatch, and she flops onto the dry part of the beach. Shikka follows, flopping next to Raine. Lloyd's helping Genis and Sheena pack everything again, while Aurian climbs out and moves somewhere where the wind gets to blow over her and make it look like it's going to pick her up and throw her. Piers follows the elf, with Daichi helping Genis and Sheena. Regal carries the packs out, because his hands make it a bit awkward for him to help much in the packing, and Zelos is looking about, picking a spot for camp that evening. Colette flies packs out. Shikka stands, looking a bit woozy.

"I say we camp, rather than just eat outside." Raine says. Aurian nods in fervent agreement as they leave the EC, and Lloyd puts it away into the Wing Pack.

"I agree." Piers says. He and Daichi start setting up the camp where Zelos points out. Zelos sets to making the fire-ring, clearing the ground and dropping stones in a loose circle. Colette gets the cooking things and starts rummaging about for something to make. Preferably without fish. At the moment, even Shikka doesn't want fish. He pulls some meat from his pack that has been well preserved with salt. Colette beams and sets to making something with it. Shikka settles himself beside Aurian.


	41. Mines

February 24th

* * *

The mineshaft widens up into a large sort of techy looking room. The wall before them was man-made, and there was a blue and steel pillar that was as tall as Genis in the center.

"Wow! So this is that sealed mine! It sure looks like it might house a ghost or two, don't you think? Hmm?" Zelos looks thrilled to be there.

"Ghosts, eh?" Daichi mumbles.

"Argh! Will you just be quiet for a little while?" Sheena still seems irritated with Zelos after a week and a half of close quarters with him. She's also a bit paler after his comment.

"What's with you? Don't get mad, Sheena." Zelos shrugs it off. Daichi and Piers watch Sheena curiously. Sheena silently fumes at Zelos's back.

"...This isn't good." Regal says, studying the door.

"What's up?" Daichi asks, hand on the haft of his axe.

"The door's guard system is out of control." As Regal says this, what had looked like a support pillar frees itself from the wall and thumps down. "Someone must have destroyed it when trying to force their way through."

"So..." Lloyd watches it, then grins. "Let's bust it up even more!"

"Now ya talkin' my language!" Daichi says, drawing the axe.

"That's our Lloyd!" Zelos cheers, drawing his shortsword. "That's an easy to understand plan!"

"Yeah. I'm fine with that, too." Sheena shrugs, pulling out her seal tags. Genis has a look on his face that says 'if this goes wrong, don't blame me..' Piers' face imitates Genis'.

"If the roof comes down on us, I'm killing you again." Aurian mumbles.

"Honestly." Raine sighs, although they do get ready as well.

"Well, if Lloyd says so, it's fine with me." Colette smiles.

Shikka merely shrugs. "Seems like a plan, at least."

"Hit it with lightning." Genis calls, violet runes spilling out about him. Aurian's holding her glaive like she forgot why she has it, violet flicking about her as well. Lloyd darts in, and two other of the support-pillars come off, held to the wall by a joint as they tried to play whack-a-Lloyd.

"We're fighting a wall. Doesn't that seem strange to anyone?" Daichi mutters.

"... No?" Everyone looks at him. Lloyd yelps as one of the wall's arms tries to knock him flying, and then four Raybits are let down from another of the wall-leg-things.

"Don't run!" Zelos shouts, twirling and letting a spell fire. "_Thunder blade_!" Daichi and Piers are attacking manually, as the two know no lightening attacks. Lloyd and Regal are whacking away manually as well, although Lloyd occasionally throws out a _Lightning Tiger Blade_ with a look of 'how the hell am I doing that?' Genis's _Thunder Blade_ makes Zelos's look half assed, and Aurian's hits sideways. The small pillar sparks, and then some of the crunched and cut metal mends itself.

"... It heals?" Lloyd gapes. Piers starts hacking away at the repairing metal. Sheena starts attacking the small pillar in the center, and Genis' next spell helps her. Raine casts a round of _Sharpness_ on everyone hacking and slashing.

"What does it take to kill this thing?" Daichi growls.

"Move." Aurian's been casting for a while, and her hair's trying to stand on end now. Lloyd looks and yelps, doing so. Regal glances, and breaks a Raybit with a good stomp, heading back with Sheena. And Piers and Daichi follow her lead, Daichi stomping a Raybit also as it gets too close. "_Lightning Net_." Aurian mumbles, a thick bolt of lightning arcing from her to the center pillar, arcing from it to the surviving, heavily damaged Raybits, and from them to the wall's arms, and into the wall itself. Piers shudders from the remaining static. The Lightning bounces back to the raybits then dissipates into the wall.

"Okay!" Zelos' voice is a tiny bit shaky for that word. "Good work everyone!" He skips past the fried machinery. "Now, let's go get that whatchamacallit." Piers stays still until everything has stopped sparking before he follows.

"Inhibitor ore!" Genis grumbles at the Chosen. "Yeah, that!" Zelos nudges the now open door with a foot. "Come on, let's go!"

"..." Piers looks displeased at the electricity and Zelos. Lloyd shrugs and starts to follow, Aurian gathering the sparks and playing with them for a moment before dissipating the remaining and following. Genis is watching her a bit, and Regal shakes his head.

"... They're all so violent." Daichi watches Aurian also, walking next to Genis.

"... I'm gunna ask her to teach me." Genis decides, catching up to the group. The mine's large... and the platform rail system is still active. Raine nearly beats Regal when he explains that the machines were found with the mine. Daichi and Shikka edge away from the irate healer. Lloyd's eyeing a good 10 foot gap between two edges of the mine.

"... I could make that... But there's a boulder." Lloyd turns away from it, and Regal indicates that they need to go across on the platform, then down to where a Sorcerer's Ring podium is. They reach it with a ladder and some basilisk fighting.

"So, what does it do this time?" Genis asks, lifting the new ring from Lloyd. Piers freezes a bat that was about to sneak up from behind.

"Let's try it out." Lloyd takes it back and slips it on.

"Wait." Regal grabs Lloyd's hand. "The Sorcerer's Ring was used here to blast rock." Lloyd's eyes go wide. "Don't use it carelessly."

"Ooh. Explosions." Daichi suddenly seems interested.

"How?" Genis asks, also interested.

"When you use the Sorcerer's Ring, a condensed ball of Mana appears. Three seconds later, the ball of Mana explodes. If we're next to it, we'll be caught in the explosion." Regal lets Lloyd go.

"... Crude Mana bomb." Aurian mumbles, looking uneasy.

"Sweet." Lloyd looks thrilled. So they head up and around to a door, and Regal says that the Inhibitor Ore isn't behind that one, which is good, because the door's shut down.

"...We could've blown it up." Daichi says.

Regal gives him a bland look. "Mr. Misawa, do you know anything about caves? About the structure of the supports to maintain wall integrity?"

"The structure of this cave would mean that it would cave in. I didn't say that we should. Just that we could have." He glassesflashes. "And how the hell do you know my surname." Daichi's the target of many stares.

"Ms Sage yelled it while we were on the EC." Regal says. "And yes, any more damage to this segment of wall would bring it down on us."

"How do you know that?" Lloyd asks.

Piers stares at Daichi. "That's the smartest thing I've heard you say."

Regal gives Lloyd the look that says he's debating not answering. "...I've worked in this mine before." Regal says, turning about.

"... I see." Raine frowns at him as he started to lead the way further in. "Then let's be on our way." Aurian's giving the door a dirty look for possibly causing the cave to fall onto them. Everyone follows.

"Hmmm." Zelos eyes Regal. "You worked in a mine?" the look he's giving the convict is of disbelief.

"He's big enough for it, but his mannerisms don't belie that of a manual worker." Piers comments, glasses-flashing in the gloom.

"Yeah, right..." Zelos rolls his eyes, still watching Regal.

"Zelos?" Lloyd asks the chosen with his tone if they should be worried for his mental health.

"... How do you...?" Aurian mimes glasses flashing. Piers removes his glasses, having no need for them. Daichi sighs.

"Ah, nothing, nothing, just talking to myself." Zelos waves it off. "Come on, now, let's go, Lloyd! To help my cute Presea~!" Genis glares at Zelos. The look says 'back off, bitch. She's mine. Get too close, and you will be _fire ball_ed.'

The next area looks like the mining area, with random large boulders that they get to blow up. After blowing one up, there's a little thing, about as tall as Genis' knee, with a little pointed cap.

"..." Daichi stares at it. It stares up at all of them.

"What's this thing?" Lloyd eyes it.

"Some sort of gnome." Shikka comments.

"Hey, you losers!" It's got an annoying voice.

"Whoa, it talked!" Genis takes a step back.

"Of course I talk! You'd better watch your mouth!" the little person says.

"..." Daichi looks as though he really wants to kick the creature.

"He's not very civilized..." Lloyd mutters.

"I'm on a journey to find and eat some potion." It says.

"Eat?" Colette tilts her head. "Are you sure you're talking about potion?"

"It's something that's only for adults that makes them feel good."

"Even so, you don't eat it." Daichi grumbles.

"Do you losers have any?" the thing asks. Lloyd, Colette, and Genis shake their heads, looking at the adults. Sheena makes a face and shakes her head no.

Daichi shifts slightly. "No." Piers and Shikka shake their heads. Regal gives them a look that asks if they really think he's had time to buy such things with them. Raine shakes her head, and Aurian looks confused.

Zelos checks his pack. "Nope." Raine gives Daichi a look that says 'I don't believe you.' Daichi gives Raine a look that says 'we don't want this guy to have any.' And so the rest of the party turns to stare at Daichi.

"...What?" Daichi growls, back-stepping.

"I think you have some." Lloyd says.

"..." Daichi backs off a little more.

"I agree." Sheena says.

"He's not denyin' it." Zelos points out with a smirk.

"So what if I have? It doesn't mean anything!"

"Mr. Misawa." Regal politely points behind the creature. "We need to hit that switch to continue into the mines." It's conveniently not rock-throw-hit able from where they're at and the little creature is firmly in their way.

"..." Daichi stares at them all. Piers walks up and gently gives the little man a kick.

"Wassat for?" It doesn't budge a bit.

"...Ow." Piers looks to Daichi. "Give the weird little man booze!" Everyone resumes staring at Daichi.

"..." Daichi stares back. "I really don't have any!"

"And we really don't believe you." Raine sighs.

"..." Piers sighs. "I wish I had Mind Read."

"Why not?"

"Given your habits, and your present to Piers on his 18th."

"..." Piers blinks. "I haven't drank that yet!" He pulls the flask from his pack. "I forgot about this."

"So, who's giving up 'potion' for the thing?" Lloyd jerks his thumb at the creature.

"I still think it should be Daichi." Piers stares at the half-elf.

"It'd be a bit mean to ask Piers to give up a present." Colette agrees.

"...Fine." Daichi pulls a battered flask from his pocket. "Just don't blame me when this thing attacks or stalks us or something. And ya glad this ain't my best flask." He throws the flask of the creature's head.

The thing catches it. "Is this it? Is this the potion? You losers did a good job!" It eats it.

"Whoa, he even ate the flask!" Genis stares. Daichi grumbles something about losing a vintage Luin blend of Whiskey from about 60 years ago.

"It doesn't taste like anything. Is this what I've been traveling for all this time? This is lame!" the thing says. Everyone stares at it. "I'm going home. Later." it heads out.

"...Ungrateful Midget." Daichi scowls.

"What the heck was that all about?" Lloyd stares. Regal heads over and presses the switch, which knocks some riskily placed boulders off the path ahead with a moving platform.

"Waste of a perfectly good flask." Daichi still seems bitter.

"You coming?" Raine glances at Daichi as they start to head for the way further in.

"Yeah, yeah." The large half-elf mutters as he follows. Walking down the path, there's a click, then rumbling. A large boulder falls further up the ledge from them.

"..." Piers looks to Regal. Regal's indicating they should move to the edge. Aurian's already wedged herself into a crack in the wall. Everyone does so, watching the boulder go zooming past.

"Whoa, that was close! What was that?" Zelos yelps.

"I would say that it's a device to stop intruders." Shikka comments.

"It is." Regal steps back onto the main ledge, eyeing the ground before pointing with a foot to a slightly different layer of rock. "I'm sorry, I had forgotten."

"Pay attention to what you're doing!" Zelos grumbles. Daichi walks around the corner.

A few seconds he reappears. "There's a spinning, floating tile..." So the rest go around the corner to look, Aurian knocking spiders of the normal variety off.

"That's a Naploosa Bacura." Regal recognizes it.

"A what?" Daichi asks, blinking.

"Y...you can't mean the great Professor Naploosa's..." Raine knows what it is.

"Yes. It's a device made of concentrated Mana in physical form. Normal attacks cannot harm it." Regal shrugs.

"Napoleon's Veruca?" Daichi mutters under his breath.

"Naploosa Bacura."Sheena corrects off handedly.

"... really?" Lloyd eyes the thing, he attempts to get close, but it spins and whacks him several times on the head before he can back away. Piers is holding back laughter.

"How do we get rid of it, Sir Regal?" Shikka asks. Lloyd's left holding his head.

"I'm sorry..." Regal mutters at Raine, inching away from her. "But if we could strike it with a powerful impact..." Daichi runs in, raising his axe.

"_Crushing Fury_!" He yells as the start of a powerful Strike Arte. The Bacura spins, knocking his ax down, and then bonks him several times on the head as well. Daichi falls back, being in mid-air, on his back, stunned. Aurian gives a little giggle. Everyone turns to look at Aurian. Aurian gives them a very blank look back.

"A powerful impact, huh?" Lloyd muses, looking back up the way they came. You can tell when it clicks because he gets a rather evil expression. "Hmmm..."

"Finally caught on, have we?" Piers calls back.

"Ha ha ha." Lloyd fake laughs at him. "We need someone to lure the thing up so it can get smashed." he jerks his thumb at the Bacura.

"I nominate Daichi." Piers says.

"Seconded." Genis says.

Zelos sighs. "At least it isn't me."

"I nominate Zelos for setting off the trap." Lloyd says.

"Seconded." Sheena says.

Daichi blinks, holding his head. "What?"

"You get to lure the bacura thing." Sheena says, indicating the floating tile.

"While Zelos runs up and pushes the trap." Lloyd finishes.

"..." Daichi grumbles about this not being his day.

"Whyy meee?" Zelos whines.

"Because you're annoying." Most of the party retorts.

"Ouch..." Zelos slinks off to wait by the trap. Daichi doesn't bother to ask why he was chosen to lure the tile. He waits. Everyone else gets to safe spots, leaving easily accessed places for Zelos and Daichi.

"We're all ready." Colette calls. Daichi steps out, leading the floating tile thing. They manage to time it right, so that as they dart into safety, the tile meets the boulder.

"Yay!" Colette and Lloyd cheer. Daichi pants, looking relieved. Regal presses a block into the wall, and there's a rumbling click.

"The trap's been disarmed." Regal explains.

"And the floating tile of doom is out of the way." Lloyd grins, waving his arms at the 'of doom' part. "We can go on."

Piers eyes Lloyd. "You sound like Kvar."

Lloyd turns slightly green. "I take offense to that."

"I thought you would be." Piers says, walking on. Regal leads the way while Lloyd gives Piers a strange look. Further in, there's a waterfall, a bridge, and then they stop.

"This is the inhibitor ore mining area." There's a bunch of dusty boxes about.

"So which is the inhibitor ore?" Lloyd looks about. None of the boxes have markings.

"We should search the area." Piers comments.

"Oh, please, I'm not going to go through all those boxes! Let's just blow them all up!" Zelos says.

Piers looks to Zelos. "..."

"You're welcome~!" Zelos smirks.

"I agree!" Lloyd cheers, planting a Mana bomb next to a pile of boxes. Piers sighs, taking cover. Everyone else does the same. The box goes flying in pieces, and after the noise dies down, they all poke at the shiny bits on the floor.

"... I don't see any Inhibitor Ore." Regal says.

"Next box!" Lloyd, Genis and Colette cheer. Daichi looks at the three.

"Gotta remember that they're still kids." He comments. "Hard to after Lloyd's speech at Mizuho."

"It's also hard to realize you're the second oldest." Raine says. Regal blinks, glancing at faces and trying to guess. Genis makes the bomb and Lloyd lobs it at another set of boxes, and then all three dive into their impromptu shelter again, grinning widely.

"I'm 83." Daichi clarifies for Regal.

Regal blinks. "A half elf. I see." He doesn't sound or look bothered by this fact.

"You have a fair point, Raine. But I was a murderous, torturous asshat for the most part." He states.

Piers looks up. "Now you're just an asshat."

Regal blinks. "... who is oldest?" he muses, as Lloyd, Colette and Genis dart out to look over the shinnies.

"That would be Lady Aurian." Shikka says. Aurian doesn't seem to realize they're talking about her by the way she blinks at Regal when he looks at her.

"Ahh. Elvenkind." He nods. "I see."

"Found some!" Lloyd managed to singe his hair a little somehow. Piers splashes him in the face.

Lloyd splutters, nearly dropping the ore he held. "What was that for?"

"Your hair was on fire."

"You weren't supposed to tell him!" Genis snickers.

"Now we can save Presea." Colette chirps about the ore Lloyd holds.

"The smell of burnt hair isn't a good one." Daichi points out, as though speaking from experience as though that was the only downside.

"I agree." Aurian mumbles.

"All I need to do now is prepare this." Lloyd taps the ore.

"I guess we should do it outside, huh?" Daichi says, glancing at Aurian. The elf's back to shaking and staring at the ceiling like it was the spawn of all things evil and had been for the past three generations.

"Sounds like a good idea." Sheena agrees. Lloyd's started poking about through the rubble from the boxes, and has gathered another half-dozen bits of inhibitor ore. Daichi dusts himself down. Shikka helps Aurian up. Aurian lets him. Regal nods, taking point again to lead them out, although he did spend a moment watching the ore Lloyd picked up as if he was thinking of asking something or other. Shikka sticks by Aurian.

"It's no good, there're no Exspheres around here, either..." As they reach the bashed door, they see a vaguely familiar chubby man and some guards.

Regal recognizes him, and is very displeased. "... Vharley!"

"...Who is this guy?" Piers asks.

"That's..." Zelos eyes him for a moment, before snapping his fingers. "Vharley, the Exsphere broker."

"Regal!" Vharley notices the angry blue haired man. "So you're the one who destroyed the guard system."

"...Exsphere broker?" Daichi growls, rounding on Vharley. "You mean...?"

"This guy trades in people's souls." Piers finishes.

"Why are you here? Why has the Pope let you stay free? That's not what I agreed to!" Regal is more angry than Daichi.

"Did you think the Pope would really keep a promise to a murderer?" Vharley laughs at Regal. "And you forgotten your promise to bring us Colette! You joined with them instead!"

"So the pope let a soul trader free because someone didn't kidnap a little girl?" Piers states. "Glad to see someone has their priorities straight. At least what Daichi did had some sound logic to it." He adds.

"If the Pope will not fulfill his promise, then I will punish you myself!" Regal starts after the man.

"No way!" Vharley yelps. "I'm gettin' out of here!" Vharley moves quickly for a fat man. Daichi seems to be of the same opinion, following Regal. They apparently had a land Elemental Cargo outside the mine, for they weren't there by the time the two got outside. The rest follow slower, and Aurian immediately claims a spot in the dying sunlight.

"Um, Regal?" Colette asks hesitantly. "Why do you know that man?"

"He called you a murderer..." Genis adds.

"Damn...It's bad that we actually made the damned Exspheres...But...To think..." Daichi growls. Regal turns back from staring away at one of the directions that Vharley might have gone, and watches them like he was debating saying anything.

"I am a prisoner serving time for the crime of murder. I won't blame you if you look down on me." Regal says finally.

"...Just one murder, right?" Daichi asks.

"... Yes." Regal says.

"... What happened?" Lloyd asks, trying to piece something together.

"Explaining would be an excuse. I committed a crime. That's all that needs to be said." Regal says.

"You say you're fine for us to look down on you. You've only killed ONE person." Daichi says. Regal gives him a look.

"...My stupid actions have killed many people. ...I don't know what you did, and your crime won't go away, but when you're suffering, it's all right at least say so." Lloyd gives a mini-speech, and plops himself down near where they camped last night. Daichi gives Regal a look back.

"Um, I don't know how to explain it very well, but I think we have the Goddess inside all our hearts. So I think the Goddess also bears the burden of your sins with you. Um...that's all." Colette turns pink. Regal stares at them for a moment.

"...Perhaps someday I will have the opportunity to tell the story..." Regal turns and starts the fire. "I apologize..."

"Don't apologize for it." Daichi comments, sitting down. Regal sort of blinks at him, before watching Lloyd.

"How long will it take?" He asks after a moment.

Lloyd blinks up from looking over his bits of ore. "To be honest, only a dwarf could do it right. But if I carve the charm directly into this, I think it'll serve in place of a Key Crest. If that's all right, I can make it right away."

"That's good." Piers says.

"Yep." Lloyd sets to picking the one that would work best as a pendant and cleaning it.

Regal looks pleased, then vaguely curious at Daichi. "... you put emphasis on 'one'."

"...Yes, I did." He takes a drink of tea that Piers had handed him. "To put it simply, just one murder is nothing compared to what I've done." Regal gives him a look that can be translated as 'if you wouldn't mind elaborating?'

Daichi gives him a glance that says 'if I must.' "I've killed, slaughtered, maimed, captured, tortured, neglected, harvested Exspheres from and raped countless humans in the past 60 years." He states coldly.

"... I see." Regal blinks. Aurian's giving him a grumpy look. "... And how do you feel about all that?"

"I've regretted it ever since I joined up with Team Misfit. It's a wrong that I cannot right, but by the goddess, I'm gonna fucking try." Raine bonks him on the head. Daichi flinches from the bonk.

"Since when have we been 'Team Misfit'?" Lloyd asks, carving still.

"Since Yuan called us it." Piers responds. He takes out a flag. It has all their faces on it with Regal's drawn in somewhere. Zelos' face is pulling a very retarded look.

"Pretty!" Colette looks at it. "How are we going to fly it?"

"We use the stick that's rammed deep in Zelos' ass, of course!" Daichi says, tensing himself. Raine whacks him upside the head.

"Ha ha ha..." Zelos fake laughs. "Why can't we just use your axe?"

Colette and Lloyd look up. "I don't get it."

"That's perfectly fine." Raine says, giving Daichi the look that says if this conversation continues, she's going to give him a concussion and not let anyone heal it. Daichi doesn't pursue the topic but looks smug with himself.

* * *

:3


	42. Wyverns

And then they spend another week and a half in a boat. During the trip, they had an impromptu party for Sheena's 20th, which ended with Zelos being banished to deck for the remainder of the day for trying to grab her.

By the time they get to Ozette, they're all thoroughly irritated with each other's presence. Well, not Colette, but there's opinion that you can't get Colette irritated with anyone. Daichi and Piers aren't talking to each other. It seems that Daichi tried to cut Piers' hair while he slept. They use Shikka/Lloyd as a relay for snarky comments. So they're all looking forward to spending the night in the inn.

"That's them!" Some random Ozette dweller points at them. "The wanted criminals!" He's talking to a papal knight.

"Ah, crap, not the Papal Knights again!" Zelos groans.

"Why do they always show up where we're going?" Sheena rubs her head in frustration.

"Maybe someone's feeding them information." Daichi comments. Zelos and Sheena make grumpy faces at each other.

"Well, well, if it isn't Master Zelos." A papal knight whose armor was white and gold says. "I trust you are well." There's a whole platoon of them this time.

"Dammit." Lloyd draws his blades as they ring them, three deep. Aurian's muttering under her breath about not being able to do that many tiny wind blades.

"Can I break them?" Daichi asks, axe drawn.

"You can try." Raine says, her staff ready. "If you've got that much breath while fighting them, that's your call."

"Remember, capture Colette alive!" the fancy armored knight says. The knights lower their halberds, and the fancy one screams as Aurian decides to pick him off first. And Daichi lunges into attacking, chaining normal attacks, strike artes and insults that would make one's ears bleed. Seems he does have alot of breath.

"I call upon thee in the land of the dead to unleash thy fury of thunder." Genis chants, a violet seal spray forming about him. Aurian's using her glaive to poke at people, while Lloyd does his hack and slash thing, Colette hovering over Genis and throwing her Chakrams, Zelos dancing about, and Regal showing that you really didn't want him to try when he fought you, as the breaking bones and armorsaid. Daichi is continuing to flow with the combo of attacks and Brain Rape. Piers is spamming his spells as usual. Sheena's using combinations of _Pyre Seal _and _Life Seal _that knock Papal Knights flying and drain them to the ground, leaving her with a swarm of _First Aid _like lights as she flipped away from halberds.

"_Indignation_!" Genis shouts, and a spark forms over a thick knot of Papal knights, shining a seal onto the ground. Aurian uses two quick wind spells and knocks more into the light. Daichi and Piers back off, Piers hiding behind a rock. Lloyd and Zelos do the same, as a large bolt of lightning strikes from the spark, electrocuting all the knights inside and heating their armor to painful levels.

"Awesome, Genis!" Lloyd shouts, grinning before jumping another knight. Piers is cowering.

Daichi winces at the scent of seared flesh and howling screams. "Didn't know you had it in you, short stuff."

"Shush." Genis brandishes his Kendama at him. Aurian's stabbing at weak places in armor while Raine casts _Field Barrier_ and _Acuity_, giving them little magic barriers and magic sharpened weapons.

"_Dark Destruction_!" Daichi slams his axe into the ground, knocking a fair few papal knights out in the resulting explosion. And then they all died.

"We won." Lloyd's bouncing on his heels, before he stops and cleans his blades.

"And I thought that I enjoyed killing." Daichi mutters. Lloyd blinks confusedly, while everyone just cleans up a little.

"It's my fault again." Colette says, landing. "I'm so sorry, everyone."

Piers walks over and gently clonks her over the back of the head. "We wouldn't be here if we didn't want to be."

"Don't be silly. They're after my life, too. The Professor, Genis and Daichi are wanted because they're half-elves. Sheena is from Mizuho, now considered a village of traitors. And Regal is considered a traitor as well. Piers and Shikka are just weird, and Aur's with us, so she's lopped in too." Zelos says.

Piers folds his arms. "I am not weird!"

"You've got funky magic, the Mana-reading device blew up when it tried to read you." Zelos points out.

"What about me?" Lloyd blinks.

"... You're Sylvaranti." Zelos shrugs. "And with us, or leading us, or whatever."

"The Mana-reading device was retarded." Piers comments. Shikka head-tilts, trying to figure out how he was weird. Aurian doesn't seem to realize she's being talked about.

"... Thanks." Colette smiles.

"Stop thinking everything's your fault." Lloyd lightly raps her forehead.

"I'm sorry Lloyd." Colette apologizes.

"You don't need to apologize for it..." Lloyd sighs like they've had this conversation many times before.

"Sure it was." Daichi comments.

"It was! The formulae were flawed!" Colette suddenly falls to her knees, crying out with pain.

"Colette?" Lloyd freaks out for a second. "Professor! Colette-" Piers and Daichi are distracted, Piers running over to Colette, kneeling by her.

"She's running a fever." Raine checks on her. "But what could be causing this much pain?"

"...Move..." Presea's outside their little worried grouping. "... Please leave this... to me..."

Piers steps back. "But, I..." Everyone turns to look at her.

"Presea?" Raine blinks, then thought flickers. "A... all right." She takes a step back as well, and Lloyd a little more hesitantly. Presea then clears the area about her with her ax, causing them to jump back or have their knees missing. Piers jumps back as instructed. While they're in that second of gaping, Presea knocks Colette out with the handle of her ax. And then Rodyle shows up.

"Good work, Presea." A pair of wyverns, like the ones that Kratos had muttered about being out of their territory near Tower of Mana, fly down.

"L-Lord Rodyle." Daichi growls, having fell over due to Presea's axe. He struggles to get up quickly. One of the wyverns grabs onto Colette, and Rodyle climbs onto that one's back while the other reaches to grab Presea.

"Damn!" Sheena shouts. "_Corrine_!" The fox appears and knocks Presea down, and out of the range of the Wyvern's claws.

Piers glows. "_Froth_!" He casts the spell, but it falls just short of the Wyvern. "Damnit." Aurian's frozen in what's likely terror.

"I am Rodyle!" Rodyle's commanded his wyvern higher into the air. "The most cunning of the Desian Grand Cardinals! I hope you don't mind me taking the Chosen One. Hehehehehe!" and he flies away while cackling.

"He's only the most cunning because Kvar got mutilated..." Daichi scowls sourly.

"Desians? Why are there Desians in Tethe'Alla?" Lloyd spends a moment stomping in an angry circle. By the time he's completed the circle, he's looking calmer.

"Lloyd." Regal doesn't tap him on the shoulder, but calling the twinblade's name was close to it. "Will you help Presea?" Corrine's sitting on the pinkette's head. Piers walks over, watching the pinkette.

"... Yeah." Lloyd sighs heavily, pulling out the charm. "It's got the charm, so it should return her to being... her..." Lloyd carefully puts it on a loop of string then about Presea's neck.

Piers watches. "Think it'll take time like Colette?"

"Dunno." Lloyd shrugs. "I mean... she's not an angel, right?" Presea's blinking from her spot on the ground.

Sheena recalls Corrine, and Genis inches closer. "Presea? Are you okay?" Piers gets closer, but stays back a bit, watching attentively. Presea blinks at them all, then her head tilts to the side.

"What?" She has to cough once to get her voice working better. "What am I doing?" She gets up then, startled. "Where's my daddy?"

"Uh." Lloyd blinks as Presea heads back down through Ozette without her ax.

"I think we should follow her." Daichi says, following the pinkette at a distance.

"Agreed." Raine says, looking worried. "If the father she's looking for is..." Lloyd's trying to pick up Presea's ax to take with them. It's not working very well, but he's managing to not kill the ground with it. Daichi helps the twinblade carry the axe, still only managing to get it as high as Genis' middle. they make it down to Presea's house about the same time she makes it inside.

"I..." Her voice is panicked. "What have I been doing?" By the scream that follows, she'd found her dad. Piers runs inside, flanked by Genis and, no doubt, Raine. Presea's sitting on the dusty floor next to the bed, holding her head and screaming.

Raine kneels next to her, grabs onto the small pinkette, and holds her tight, while screams turn to sobs. "Shh. It's okay." Piers kneels by Presea also, giving the girl a cursorily glance to make sure she's okay. It seems she's just freaking out due to waking up and finding her father dead. It seems that she really isn't a twelve year old.

"... We... need to bury... daddy." Presea gets out between weakening sobs.

"We will..." Piers mumbles, looking to Genis who is standing nearby. Genis nods, and darts out to get someone better than him at carrying things.

"I'm helping." Presea says.

"Presea, you need-"

"-It's my daddy, I'm helping!" Presea refuses to listen to Raine on not helping. And Daichi is dragged in by the arm.

"Can you carry Presea's dad?" The young mage asks.

The half-elf nods grimly. "Of course I will."

"... All right." Raine lets the pinkette up, standing herself. Presea stares at her dad for a moment, then grabs an old shovel off the wall. Daichi swaths the body in the bed sheets, picking it up, gently. He follows Presea outside, being careful not to trip with the body. Presea looks about, and quickly finds a place she wants, off to the left of her house. It doesn't take the small girl long to make a hole in the ground big enough for her father if he was in a coffin, let alone simply the bed sheets. Daichi gently lowers the body into the hole. Piers stands nearby to Presea, watching somberly. Everyone else is quietly watching. Presea shovels the dirt back in, then looks about. She finds a rock about half the size she is, and starts moving it for the grave. Piers steps forward.

"Would you like me to help with that?" He asks. Presea blinks at him, then pats one edge of the slightly grave-shaped rock.

"This is the top." she tells him, then returns to moving it. Piers nods, helping to move the rock into the correct position, successfully. Presea settles the grave marker on top of the patch of freshly moved earth, pats it once, then turns back to the party. The only difference between three hours ago, when they hadn't given her a Key Crest, and now, was that she didn't have the same sort of dead eyes.

"...Thank you for assisting me with my daddy's burial." Her voice wasn't quite as mechanical either.

"Have you calmed down a little?" Raine asks, Presea nods.

"I've... been a great burden on you all." Presea says.

"You remember?" Lloyd's wondering if this is something to be happy about, or somewhat horrified.

"Yes..." Presea tilts her head. "Mostly..."

"Why did you have an Exsphere on you like that anyway?" Genis asks, frowning a little.

"I received it from a person named Vharley." Presea says, touching it lightly.

"I knew it..." Regal sounds angry for once. "Vharley!" It's just a mutter though.

"I wanted to save my sick daddy. I wanted to learn how to wield an ax, so I could work in my daddy's place." Presea explains.

"Who's Vharley, again?" Piers asks.

"The Exsphere broker." Sheena says.

"So Vharley introduced me to Rodyle, and I was taken to the Research Academy in Sybak." Presea finishes.

"The experiments on you were carried out by order of the Pope, right?" Zelos asks, and he actually seems serious.

"Which means that Desian is in league with the pope!" Lloyd hits his fist into his palm.

"Seems that way..." Daichi mumbles. "Boy. This is getting messed up..."

"Presea." Regal shifts a tiny bit closer, he had been standing at the back corner of the group. "Do you have an older sister?"

"No." Presea says.

Regal blinks. "Do you have any other family?"

"I have a younger sister." Presea says. "She left to go into service for a noble and that was the last I saw of her. And my mommy died when I was a child."

"When you were a child?" Zelos smirks a little. "Heh, you're still a child now."

"Oh..." Presea blinks down. "Yes, of course. That's right."

"Maybe she's older than she looks." Daichi puts forward.

"...hmm." Regal's looking at his handcuffed hands.

"At any rate, we can't just leave you here in this village by yourself if you have no one to turn to." Sheena points out to Presea.

"Yes... the people of this village seem to avoid her." Raine nods.

"I'm sure Genis would be happy for you to come with us." Piers says, with his ¬_¬ face on. Genis turns bright pink and elbows Piers firmly in the gut.

"I.. uh.. would like to go with all of you if that would be all right." Presea says.

"huh? Why?" Lloyd scratches the side of his nose.

"…It's my fault that Colette was taken away. So please, let me help in her rescue." Presea says.

"Please allow me to come along as well." Regal says. "It seems that my fate is linked to your enemy."

Daichi shrugs. "The more the merrier."

Lloyd spins about, smiling a little at the rest of the group. "So, what do you all think?"

"We've come all this way together." Sheena points out. "Do you even need to ask at this point?" Lloyd's grin told them he thought as much.

"Exactly." Zelos agrees.

"I'm okay with it." Genis is still giving Regal a shifty look.

"..." Aurian gives Lloyd a look like 'I'm supposed to have an opinion?'

Shikka is watching a butterfly intently. "Hm? Oh! Uh...I'm fine with it."

"...Truthfully, I'd like to oppose this, but I already knew it would end up like this." Raine shrugs, her own 'approval' of sorts. Genis elbows Piers in the gut.

Piers grunts, blinking. "Oh, I'm fine with it." He resumes, staring at a tree. Lloyd spins back about, grinning at Presea and Regal.

"There you go." He offers his hands for them to shake, at the same time. "Lend us your help."

"I will!" Presea's smile is tiny, but it's actually a smile. You can tell that Genis' mind just melted. Piers is still staring at the tree but has a ¬_¬ look again when he glanced at Genis.

"Thank you." Regal nods. "I am in your debt. I shall not betray your trust."

"Now, let's hurry and find Colette." Raine says.

"All right, they headed east." Lloyd points in that direction.

"... So you've lost the Chosen." Simply the sound of that familiar voice sent Lloyd to freezing, and his expression to anger. Kratos stands before the way out, in that weird outfit of too many belts.

"Oh-hoh, look. It's bondage boy." Daichi drawls, standing behind Lloyd.

"At least I'm not a rapist." Kratos says fake-sweetly.

"You again!" Lloyd isn't happy, and he isn't happy at being ignored by the target of his rage. "What have you done with Colette?" Neither Regal or Presea know who he is, but they put together quickly with Lloyd's anger that Kratos wasn't a good guy.

"Better than looking like Yggdrasill's retarded gimp brother." Daichi responds in the same tone.

"..." Lloyd's eyebrow twitches as he looks like he's thinking of just running over and attacking Kratos to get his attention.

"Rodyle is ignoring our orders and acting on his own." Kratos looks at Lloyd. "I know nothing of it."

"Internal strife?" Raine asks coldly. "How pathetic." Kratos sort of shrugs. The motion isn't complete, hense sort of.

"Say what you will. Either way, he will have no choice but to abandon the Chosen." Like usual, Kratos doesn't call Colette by her name.

"... What do you mean?" Lloyd's still very angry.

"The Chosen is useless as she is now." Kratos tells them flatly. "You can let her be."

"Like hell we will." Daichi comments.

"You got to be kidding me!" Lloyd yells. "We're going to rescue Colette no matter what! And if you get in our way..." he quickly draws his swords for Kratos, who blandly watches him. The second before he would have been sliced, Kratos blocked, parried, and knocked Lloyd onto his ass.

"You bastard!" Daichi yells, running forward, axe raised. Within about 1 meter of Kratos, Daichi's wings materialize. The half elf freezes, his eyes a cold red, but glinting maliciously.

Kratos holds his sword loosely, the tip nearly in the dirt, watching Daichi. "... Interesting." Daichi then continues his lunge with renewed vigor. Kratos waits until the last moment again before knocking Daichi back, his wings flickering out for a second. Daichi, however, is not knocked back far. He runs in again, trying to pound against Kratos' defenses. Kratos doesn't let him get close enough, again knocking him back, frowning a tiny bit. Lloyd chooses to sit up shortly after Daichi's knocked back. Daichi seems to spontaneously switch targets, dashing for Lloyd, yelling as he swings the axe down. Kratos seems to freeze up. Aurian tackles Daichi, trying to avoid his wings. For being a skinny stick of an elf, she managed to thump into him pretty hard. It might have to do with the traces of Wind Magic in the air. Lloyd scurries back, although not toward Kratos. Daichi grunts, taking a step back, distracted, dropping the axe for a few seconds. Long enough for Lloyd to attempt to claim it. Aurian attempts to keep clinging to Daichi. She's trying to pull on his hair in an attempt to keep him distracted. Kratos is absently watching.

"What did you do?" Genis demands of him. Daichi flails about a bit, raising his arms, his wings flapping a bit. He blinks, realization coming to those spooky red eyes. He rips the elf from him. He smirks lightly, the motion looking eerie and mechanical.

"Nothing that I am aware of." Kratos says, watching. Aurian goes still, eyes wide as she is held like a rather pissed off cat, before she attempts to put her feet in his face. Lloyd barely managing to carry Daichi's axe away. Daichi simply tosses the elf away, following Lloyd and grabbing the axe, and the teen attached, raising them easily.

Regal sighs. "I apologize for this." he says, before kicking Daichi's knees at the back. Daichi grunts, falling to his knees, dropping Lloyd and the axe. Lloyd yelps. Presea had followed Regal, who tries to knock Daichi down further, and picks up Daichi's axe.

"... This... is light." Presea mutters. Daichi grunts, falling onto his stomach, shuddering as Regal's foot passes through the aqua blue wings. Regal pales, grimacing with a mildly horrified expression, and backs up to go throw up into the bushes.

"... It seems like he's gone berserk." Raine says, frowning at Daichi, holding her staff ready. Daichi groans, starting to stir, moving to get up. Raine thumps him on the head hard with her staff. "Interesting. Is it Kratos's Angellic presence?" Kratos crosses his arms. Because he hasn't wandered off yet, it seems he's got more to say. Daichi collapses once more, twitching.

Piers advances with a stick and pokes Daichi a few times. "Nice hit, professor."

"Why aren't you helping?" Genis asks, scowling at Kratos.

"You want me to help?" Kratos asks flatly, looking down at Genis. "I was fairly certain I was your enemy." Genis makes an annoyed noise, which Lloyd's expression mimics.

Shikka blinks. "We need something to bind him..."

Piers nods. "I agree. Someone got any steel cable?"

Lloyd stares at him blankly. "I've got tent-rope." he says.

"I've got a bit of rope in case we have to climb the Fuji Mountains again." Sheena says, shuddering. Aurian, Raine, and Genis shake their heads.

"I only have some old rope for moving logs." Presea says.

"These are my only pair of handcuffs." Regal shifts his wrists.

"... Nope." Zelos shrugs. Piers looks to Kratos, walks over and raps a knuckle against a belt. It clangs. Piers is ¬_¬ at the minute.

Kratos watches him blankly. "Yes?"

Piers adopts a sweet tone. "Can I borrow one of those belts, please?" He has a tone of 'give it to me, or I kill you.' Kratos watches him blankly yet, obviously not bothered by the 'I kill you.' He reaches and un-hooks one, and pulls it free, holding loosely for Piers' inspection. His outfit isn't symmetrical anymore. Shikka blankly stares at Kratos.

Piers takes the belt. "Pure orichalcum! That's why it looks like leather!" Piers rushes over, handing the belt to Regal. "Would you do the honors? You're the strongest bar Shikka." Regal looks at him, and shows that he can get his hands all of half a foot apart.

"I will require aid." he says. Kratos makes no move to budge, Lloyd doesn't want to get close to Daichi's wings, and Raine's sitting ready to clonk him on the head again. Aurian wants nothing to do with Daichi, and Zelos and Genis aren't exactly as strong as Regal. Shikka walks forward to help Regal. Presea offers her help as well. Regal tosses the belt though the wings, and Presea makes it straight.

"We will need to roll him over... without touching his wings." Regal shudders slightly. Raine clonks Daichi on the head and pronounces him fit for rolling over. Kratos looks amused with this all. Shikka performs the rollover successfully by turning his legs. Regal quickly tightens the belt and steps back. Kratos looks really amused.

"Well, I would have guessed it from Regal, but I wouldn't have expected Daichi to be into bondage." Zelos smirks and winks. Raine, Piers and Sheena all assault Zelos at the same time. Sheena slaps him, Raine clonks him and Piers punches him in the stomach. Kratos actually looks like he would be smiling, if it wasn't for the fact he Was Their Enemy and thus shouldn't show emotion.

"... I think that will hold." Regal pretends not to have heard Zelos's comment... as he did a lot. Daichi struggles against his bindings, growling.

"..." Raine watches him, then whacks him across the head again. "No." She tells him. Aurian's sitting with the most people between Daichi and her and sort of angry-kitty-glaring at him. Lloyd can't make up his mind whether to glare at Kratos, or watch Daichi confusedly.

Piers has returned to poking the half-elf angel with a stick. He then looks to Kratos. "Oop. I screwed up your symmetry."

"Is it bothering you?" Kratos asks blandly. He's looking more or less amused by the whole situation, ignoring the fact that one of his pant-legs is looser than the other.

"Nope. You just look weirder than normal." Kratos twitches a little.

"... What are you still doing here?" Lloyd asks, frowning at him. Kratos gives him a look like 'finally.'

"...I suggest you seek the Rheairds and head for the eastern skies. I'm sure the people of Mizuho have located the Rheairds by now." And with that he turns and leaves.

"Waaaaait a minute." Piers says. "How do we know that this isn't a trap to lure us to Mizuho so Yggdrasill can kill us?"

"No one but Mizuhoans know where Mizuho is." Sheena points out. "Well, you lot as well, but not even Idiot Chosen knew where it was before I took you guys there."

"Heeey..." Zelos whines, having applied _First Aid _to himself and straightened. No one pays any mind to that.

"... What the hell is that guy trying to do?" Lloyd grumbles, kicking a rock.

"Ah, well, who cares? If he's useful, make use of him." Zelos says, shrugging and smirking. Sheena scratches the side of her head.

"... True enough." she grimaces as she agrees with Zelos.

"Well. That sounded Homoerotic." Piers comments, poking Daichi with a stick.

"..." Zelos stares at him. "I wasn't going to go there."

"Sounds like you did."

Zelos grimaces, crossing his arms. "Whatever, whatever."

"We should head to Mizuho... but with Daichi like this..." Sheena scowls at the bound angel.

"... Daichi Misawa." Raine says sharply. "Be calm." Daichi's crimson eyes fix on Raine. He growls lowly, but doesn't struggle.

"What happened to him..." Piers wonders.

"No idea." Raine mutters.

"Mana incompatibilities?" Aurian offers hesitantly. She's got both Raine and Lloyd firmly between her and Daichi. "Kratos' base Mana and Daichi's could be incompatible. So he rejects it." She doesn't look happy with the attention she gained.

"Why would this make him psycho, though?" Piers asks. "And why would it still be ongoing? He's out of Kratos' range."

"..." Aurian stares at him as if she wants to know if he's absolutely certain about that last bit. "... Maybe... he absorbed a chunk?" her hands indicate something large. "And can only... expel... bits?" her hands were snowball apart.

"Or perhaps his personal dislike of Kratos has spread to his Mana." Raine offers, although she gives Aurian a look that says they need to talk Mana Theory sometime.

"Assuming those are correct, what do we do about it?" Shikka asks. Calm as ever.

"Wait?" Raine offers. "I can't do what Kratos did in Luin."

"I feel like I'm missing half a conversation here." Zelos wriggles a finger in a ear, glancing across them. "What are we talking about the old man?" Sheena looks a bit irritated, but she grabs said ear and explains some of Kratos's little tricks to Regal and Presea.

Shikka frowns. "At the most, we need only wait until his angel mode times out."

"You think that'll stop it?" Piers asks. Aurian's inching and hunching behind Raine. The healer and summoner seem to have gotten to the same realization at the same time as they both look at her. Lloyd's mumbling to himself - it sounds like he's trying to pronounce incompatibility.

"... Kratos mentioned something, once." Sheena says slowly. "that Aurian was stealing his Mana."

Piers turns to look at Aurian. "So we can ask her to..." He trails off slightly, thinking.

"And, she has not had a negative reaction, therefore their Mana types deal well with each other." Raine finishes. Aurian doesn't look happy with all the attention.

"... Universal." Aurian mutters. "Like Raine. Any type, but dark hurts. Doesn't make me mad." She's not thrilled with being the center of conversation.

Piers smiles. "Right, so we have a plan."

"Would you?" Lloyd asks, remembering the frying pan incident back in Sylvarant. Aurian blinks, looking at nothing in particular. "It would really help us, and then we could save Colette quicker." Lloyd nudges a tiny bit for a quicker answer. Aurian blinks, blinks again, and there's a bit of an uncomfortable lightening of her expression. She inches closer and stares at Daichi. Daichi's Exsphere glints slightly. In no light. The large half-elf stays still for now. Aurian doesn't visibly do anything, but like that time way back in Luin, a great storm of pearly-gray-with many other colors kicks up about her. She frowns, and it vanishes, and then one the color of Daichi's wings kicks up about him. Daichi groans, starting to squirm in his bindings. Darker shifting blues float and flit through Daichi's paler, the whole little area glowing from the Mana. Aurian stared at him blankly, then stuck her arms into his aura. She had a thin aura of shifty gray-and-all-Mana-colors about her arms, and any of the shifting not-Daichi-colors that so much as brushed against her gray was swallowed and vanished. There is another glow in his Mana. A purplish flicker about his Exsphere. Daichi is groaning, wriggling uncomfortably, trying to squirm away. Piers has backed off, looking as though he's stinging. Aurian stares blankly at the glow about the Exsphere. A thread of gray unravels from one of her hands, and pokes the purple, snatching up the Kratos-blue along the way. Daichi yelps in pain, his wings faltering slightly before resuming their strong color. There is a clear moment where it was obvious the elf was thinking about poking the purple-ness again, but Raine coughs from behind her and she doesn't. She absorbs enough of Kratos' Mana that hers is starting to show that sort of blue to it. She inches back, with that contented look that someone who just had a great, wonderful meal had. Daichi seems to relax somewhat. Piers is looking very uncomfortable.

"... Okay..." Lloyd eyes Daichi then Aurian. ".. We good?" Aurian's expression says that she'd like to have a nap now. Daichi's wings flicker slightly and then disappear. The big guy groans, seeming barely conscious for now.

"... Aurian... Did you steal some of his Mana?" Raine asks the elf. Aurian blinks at her.

"...Some didn't let go of Kratos'..." Aurian mumbles.

Daichi manages to sit, holding his head. "Anyone get the number of that EC?" He mutters.

"19-2-29." Aurian mumbles.

".. Huh?" Lloyd blinks at her.

"S is 19. he's 29, right?" Aurian blinks at them.

"... ok, then what's the 2?" Genis frowns.

"..." Aurian's expression looks like her mind reset on her.

"...So I actually got run over by an EC?" Daichi blinks. "I can't remember..."

"... No, I was being funny." Aurian mumbles.

"You got ran over by a Kratos." Zelos smirks.

Daichi stares at Zelos. "That sounds wrong on so many levels, never say that again." He says flatly. "And why are my hands tied together?"

"Because you got ran over by a-" Sheena whacks Zelos over the head.

"Because you had a bad reaction to Kratos's Mana." Sheena shrugs.

"And you attacked." Lloyd adds.

"Oh..." He chuckles nervously. "Sorry..."

"So Piers got one of Kratos's belts and we tied you up." Genis says.

"...Again, that sounds wrong." Daichi comments.

Piers smirks. "Oh, it does, doesn't it?" Aurian and Lloyd look lost. If Presea understands the conversation, her expression doesn't show it.

"We should be heading to Mizuho." Sheena says, crossing her arms. "I know it's really late, but the townsfolk are freaked out about Presea, and there's no way we're letting her stay in her house now."

"Can you untie me?" Daichi asks. They all sort of look at him for a moment.

"... No." Lloyd says cheerily, as Regal pulls Daichi to his feet.

"Why not?" Daichi whines.

"To make sure it really was Kratos' Mana that set you off." Raine says. "If it wasn't, and was something environmental, you might rage again. And it would be better to have you bound yet."

"What she said." Zelos, Lloyd and Genis chorus. Daichi mutters to himself.

* * *

cackle


	43. Lightning

They release Daichi before they get to Mizuho. As it was a few hours after dusk, they simply head to the inn. Daichi rubs his hands to get the circulation flowing again.

"Ow." Kratos walks over, out of the darkness between two houses, and holds his hand out for the belt. Sheena looks mildly pissed off that the Cruxian knows where her village is. "..." Daichi drops the belt and backs off, obviously not wanting to be within range of the Cruxian again in case his Mana infects his. Kratos simply picks up the belt, and walks back into the shadows. When Sheena sends Corrine over, there's no sign of the Cruxian that the three tailed fox can find.

"Well, that was weird..." Daichi comments, retrieving his axe from Presea.

"I'll have to check the dictionary next I see one." Zelos muses. "I'm pretty sure Kratos's face might be next to the word 'weird'." Daichi mutters, putting his axe back in its rightful place.

* * *

February 10th

* * *

Lloyd comes stumbling to the table the next morning, and sort of half-falls into the chair. Zelos, who was in the kitchen, takes one look at him and snrks. Daichi and Genis are looking smugly innocent. Raine takes a look at Lloyd, and sighs, covering a smile. Sheena blinks at him, and shakes her head, and Presea and Regal don't react.

".. Where's Lloyd?" Aurian blinks confusedly. Piers walks in, hair wet after showering. He stifles a chuckle.

"m'righ'here." Lloyd waves at Aurian.

Aurian blinks at him. "You're not Lloyd. Lloyd's brown haired."

"... Huh?" Lloyd pulls some of his hair so he can see it, and freezes. Daichi and Genis try not to laugh. "... What in Niflheim?" Lloyd blinks again. "... I'm blonde!" This is cue for Sheena to give in to laughter, and Zelos manages to hold his back until after he put plates on the table. Raine and Regal are smiling and withholding their laughter. Piers bursts out also.

Genis mocks surprise. "Really, Lloyd? I thought it was just the light."

Lloyd stares at his bleached hair for a moment, then at Genis. "It was you! This is payback for the time I copied your homework and forgot to give it back!"

"Daichi helped!" Genis is giggling now. Aurian still looks lost, and so it's up to Sheena to explain that things can change people's haircolor. Lloyd gets up to chase Genis, but stumbles over his own feet in his pre-coffee grace, and falls down. Daichi, unable to hold it in any longer, bursts out laughing.

Raine suddenly looks stern. "What homework?"

"Three weeks before the journey, thursday's math." Genis says.

Raine looks to Lloyd. "You're doing the homework again, Lloyd." She says.

"But it's Math!" the way Lloyd says math, it was worse than Kratos.

"Do it by tomorrow." There is an underlying tone of 'or else.'

"Sorry professor, I'd rather have Colette back by tomorrow rather than my homework done." Lloyd grins, grabs a handful of toast, and darts out of the inn. Daichi is wiping tears from his eyes at laughing so much.

Raine's looking like she's thinking. "... the night after we get Colette back, then." They finish breakfast and regroup outside, where Lloyd is trying to use the stream to get his hair color back. It isn't working.

Piers sighs. "Where did you get the bleach from?" He asks.

"The clothing shop." Genis points toward a store. The strange side effect of changing Lloyd's hair color is that it's not sticking up so well anymore.

"Yeah. We tried not to use too much. Should wear off." Daichi comments.

"In a week." Sheena says. "Probably. If you really managed to botch it. Otherwise, you have to wait until it grows out." Lloyd looks sulky, and takes out his minor irritation by shaking his hair dry next to Genis and Daichi. His hair doesn't stay up, but falls half into his face. Daichi isn't bothered as the water doesn't reach his face, but Genis whines and clonks Lloyd with his Kendama.

"Oh, good timing." Tiga walks from another house toward the one where they had met him previously, preventing Lloyd from dropping Genis into the stream. He makes a motion for them to follow him, and Lloyd puts Genis down. Genis has a look of plotting on his face as they follow Tiga. They all take off their shoes and carefully sit in the room again. Sheena's on their side of the table this time.

"What is it?" Lloyd asks.

"We've located the Rheairds." Tiga tells him.

"Really?" Piers asks. "That'll make it easier to get from place to place."

"It's just like Kratos said." Genis mutters.

"Why does he do things like that to help us... if he's our enemy?" Lloyd looks confused as to what Kratos really was on the scale of enemies, helpers, and crazies like Yuan.

"Kratos isn't all there."Daichi comments.

"..." Everyone who had been on the Sylvarant part of the journey but for Aurian look like their remembering something, and give a little shudder. Two words - Kvar's Ranch. Aurian simply looks confused.

"But now...we can save Colette." Presea points out.

"Lord Kvar deserved what he got. But now, Lord Rodyle is King Crazy." Daichi comments. Aurian makes a small noise, her ears flicking down. Genis gives him a look.

"Stop calling them 'lord'. Be rude, call them Rodyle Asshole. or something." Tiga's watching with vague amusement.

"I-I can't help it..." Daichi mumbles. "He is an asshole, though." Aurian makes an unhappy noise at the turn the talk's taken. Tiga coughs to regain their attention.

"Sheena, before you recover the Rheairds, I must give you a test." Tiga says.

"A test, vice-cheif?" Sheena straightens.

"Yes." Tiga watches her. "Even if we recover the Rheairds, if Volt's Mana runs out, they will crash again. Thus, before recovering the Rheairds, you are going to form a pact with Volt." Sheena goes Aurian-pale. "I know it's hard, but it is a test you must overcome." Tiga says, about as fatherly sounding as a guy can get.

"I...I can't!" Sheena flees.

"I guess Volt is a touchy subject?" Piers asks.

"Sheena failed to form a pact with Volt once before. ...That is the reason why the Chief is in a coma." Tiga says.

"Makes sense..." Piers mumbles.

"...Oh." Lloyd blinks, and Tiga dismisses them.

"It's a pretty famous incident." Zelos says, putting on his shoes. "A quarter of Mizuho's population died. She puts on a strong face, but she's really alone in this village." Zelos shoves Lloyd's shoulder. "Go cheer her up, man. She seems to have a thing for you." Zelos waves at Lloyd's startled expression and wanders off.

"Sheena looked like she was about to cry. But I believe...the deeper the wound, the more important it is to overcome it..." Presea tells Lloyd, also wandering off.

"So that's why Sheena didn't want to form the pacts. Lloyd, let's cheer her up somehow..." Genis says, before following Presea. Shikka follows Genis.

"You understand the pain of involving others in an incident you caused. ...Go to her." Raine indicates the other end of the village.

Aurian blinks at him. "... hugs are good." She tells him, before following Raine.

Lloyd blinks. "... Why me?"

"Lend her your strength." Regal puts a hand on Lloyd's shoulder for a moment, leaving the twinblade to go find the summoner.

Lloyd watches Piers and Daichi. "Are you two going to join in on the 'say something slightly corny and meaningful to Lloyd' day?"

"No. I'm going with you." Daichi says.

Piers looks shifty. "Uuh...Just try not to make things worse!" The blunette says before wandering off. Lloyd's expression flat lines as he catches the unsaid 'like you usually do'.

"Very funny." Lloyd turns and heads down toward what looked like a rice field. Daichi keeps glancing at Lloyd's hair and smirking. Lloyd makes an irritated noise as he catches Daichi's smirk.

"Don't worry! If it comes down to it, I'll save you! Just like you saved me a long time ago." Corrine's nuzzling against Sheena's cheek from his perch on her knees.

"I can't..." Sheena mumbles.

"Can't isn't a word." Daichi says, standing behind her.

Sheena jumps, getting to her feet and spinning about. "I can't do it. You heard, didn't you? So many people died because I failed to make a pact with Volt." She tells them.

"We heard." Lloyd agrees, before shrugging. "What about it?"

"So I may wind up killing you, too." Sheena's voice goes small.

"We won't die." Lloyd says.

"Why?" Sheena blinks.

"Because Lloyd is too stubborn to die." Daichi comments. Lloyd elbows him in the gut.

"Because you're going to succeed." Lloyd grins.

"How do you know that?" Sheena demands. "I already failed once."

"You'll succeed." Lloyd says, nodding. "We've been helped by your Summon Spirits countless times." Sheena stares at him. "You are not the old Sheena." He pokes her nose. "You've already made pacts with other Summon Spirits. It'll be fine. You'll do great. I guarantee it." Lloyd grins.

"I'll help too!" Corrine chirps.

"If not, we can always use Piers." Daichi says, slightly evilly.

Both stare at him. "Volt's the summon of Lightning." Sheena says.

"Piers would be on the floor twitching." Lloyd frowns.

"I am aware." Daichi says.

"... And if Volt goes berserk again?" Sheena asks.

"I'll cut him down myself." Lloyd grins. "And that will be the end of that."

"He's the elemental of lightning. Meaning he's made of pure energy." Daichi points out.

"Then I'll use wooden swords." Lloyd crosses his arms. "I've still got them."

"...That would work." Daichi says. Sheena gives a little giggle, before covering her mouth with Corrine.

Lloyd beams. "Okay?" He offers her a hand.

"... All right. I'll try it." Sheena takes it. Daichi smiles slightly to himself.

"Thanks." Sheena grins at him.

"C'mon, time to go back to Tiga." Lloyd tugs her along. Daichi follows. When he thinks no-one's looking, he adopts a smile that says 'Yay! I helped someone.' Genis eyes him from their grouping of waiting for Lloyd and Sheena so they can return to Tiga.

"... what's up with your face?" Genis asks.

Daichi drops the look. "Uh, what's up with YOUR face?" He retorts. Genis gives him a look that says that he thinks Colette can make better retorts, and she doesn't make retorts.

"You just got owned by Genis." Lloyd pats Daichi's shoulder. "Welcome to the club."

"Any more gip from you, Genis, and you lose your riding privilages." Daichi grunts as he walks past the small mage, ruffling his hair, evidentially in too good a mood.

Everyone stares at him. "..." They follow into the house.

"As for the whereabouts of the Rheairds, I'll send Orochi to the temple later. Ask him about them. The Temple of Lightning is north of here. Take care." Tiga says.

* * *

February 12th

* * *

The next day, Shikka walks outside, stretching and yawning. He nearly walks into a man just under his height.

"Oh, my apologies, sir..." The lion stops, looking at the man. He's about 6'2", bulky and has a golden-bladed sword strapped to his back. His armor is dark blue, but not as dark as his hair. His left arm has silver armor plating.

Lloyd, his hair still bleached blond, blinks sleepily. "Cool armor." Lloyd manages not to slur it as he shuffles around for the bathroom that was irritatingly enough not attached to the inn.

Shikka stares at the man. "..." The man stares back.

"...Don't worry about it, your highness." The man states, walking off.

Sheena peaks her head out. "Wait, what? He knows?" She blinks at the armored man, then at Shikka. "Is he from your country?" They're making a eat-while-walking breakfast, not going to trust the villagers tempers.

"I thiiiink he is." Shikka comments. "I've heard rumors about a blue-haired man being instrumental in winning the war against the Goddess' forces, but I was still a cub back then. That may have been Lord Ike."

"So..." Sheena frowns. "... dammit, too early to think this hard." Lloyd agrees on his way back, getting a bagel shoved with food into it from Genis as breakfast as they start out. Piers has one with cream cheese and Daichi has normal cheese. Lloyd starts out fine, then looks a bit grumpy as they walk.

"Damn that Rodyle!" Lloyd bursts out. "What does he plan to do with Colette?"

"If Kratos' words are true, Colette hasn't been taken to Derris-Kharlan." Raine says.

"Yet." Piers points out.

"Lord Rodyle's ranch is all tech-like." Daichi comments. "He could be trying a new energy source using Colette." Aurian gives a little whimper like noise every time Rodyle's name is mentioned.

Genis knocks Daichi on the side. "Say it with me. Rodyle-asshat."

"There's still hope." Raine shrugs.

"Yeah." Sheena nods. "If Colette becomes Martel, there's nothing we can do, but right now, all we have to do is get her back from Rodyle." Aurian squeaks again.

Daichi mutters the name under his breath. "Getting her back from Lord Rodyle's ranch will be pretty hard. The security is pretty tight..."

"If he's even gone back to Sylvarant." Raine points out.

"He may still be in Tethe'Alla, and there aren't any ranches here." Regal says.

"Why does all of this have to keep happening to Colette?" Lloyd demands. "To hell with this whole 'Chosen' thing!" Piers and Shikka nod in agreement. Daichi is looking thoughtful. There's a span of silence after Lloyd's outburst.

"I just can't stop wondering what that means." Raine mutters.

"What what means?" Zelos asks, before smirking. "Have you figured out something about the Cruxis' schemes?" Daichi is rummaging in his pockets.

"Just recently, they've been saying that the Chosen is useless." Raine says. "They keep saying that. Yet Colette is supposed to possess the necessary properties to become Martel's vessel. So what are they talking about?"

"...Are you sure they mean Colette?" Piers asks.

"Kratos said 'useless as she is now'." Genis points out. "So unless Zelos isn't really a guy..."

"...Now that you mention it, you're right. I mean, I'd understand it if they said Zelos was useless." Lloyd shrugs.

"Zelos is useless." Daichi comments.

"Hmmmm, yeah, you're right." Zelos agrees, before he double takes at Lloyd and Daichi. "...Wait, hey! What's that second comment supposed to mean?"

"I would have thought the meaning is quite obvious." Daichi takes the time to glassesflash before continuing to hunt through his belonging.

"Quit joking around, you three! This may mean that Colette is still hiding something." Raine looks like she wants to glassesflash then too.

"But hiding what." Piers says, pondering.

Lloyd goes depressed. "... Yeah."

"So, we need to rescue Colette as soon as possible." Daichi concludes.

"But how do we find Lady Colette...?" Shikka poses the question.

"Mizuho." Lloyd says.

"We may be ninjas, Lloyd, but flying's a little beyond us." Sheena says.

"Yet walking on water isn't?" Piers points out.

"It isn't." Sheena agrees.

"... If you use the right wind spells..." Aurian mumbles.

"...Right." Piers mumbles.

* * *

February 14th

* * *

The temple of lightning was half tower of lightning, made of a dark blue material, with its own angry raincloud, on an island up the coast. Having spent the night at the dock, it was only a short walk - given they've spent whole days walking, an hour is short - to the Temple's doors.

Piers gulps. "Uh..." He looks nervous. "C-Can I wait outside?"

"If you really want too." Lloyd blinks at him. "I mean, I don't know how long it will take us to go through it..."

"It would be nice to have another full-group healer." Raine says, looking at the other healing-capable party members. Zelos waves a little, Regal blinks, and Aurian's watching the clouds. Piers stares at the clouds also. He flinches at an arch of lightning.

"You could look at it this way." Genis smirks. "You're not the tallest. You're not the lightning rod." Aurian blinks as eyes go to her.

"B-But...Ambient lightning still..." He takes a deep breath. "F-Fine."

"I.. .could bend the air currents about the group... so the lightning takes the faster route... not at us...?" Aurian offers, her ears twitching at a crash of thunder.

Daichi flinches. "By the goddess, that's fuckin' loud." He grumbles. Raine whacks him upside the head.

"Well, no reason to waste time." Lloyd heads up, taking the steps quickly. There's no oracle stone, and the door simply opens. "... That was easy... and no oracle stone..." Lloyd looks about.

"This is the flourishing world. It probably isn't a seal right now." Raine points out. Piers keeps close to Lloyd. Too close.

"Piers... you're starting to get into my bubble." Lloyd comments, looking about, and over the edge of the path they were on. Darkness below.

"Starting?" Genis asks, amused. Piers backs off slightly. Within minutes his back within that range again as a lightning bolt strikes nearby.

"I think Piers would appreciate it if you bent the air currents." Regal says, watching the other blue-haired male.

"... Okay..." Aurian looks like she's concentrating very hard. The next lightning bolt that strikes hits a wall they couldn't have seen without the flash of light. Piers calms slightly, but continues to flinch. They look about with the lightning strikes as light, and find the door through is on the middle of three staircases. Lloyd leads the way up it, and Aurian sticks to the middle to better keep the spell over them all. Daichi is now the chosen one for Piers to invade the bubble of. Lloyd pauses as he steps and hears a click. Lightning flashes down to the pillar ahead of them, which was conveniently taller than the lot of them. A ball of lightning spirals their way, and Lloyd yelps, dropping to the floor. Aurian knocks it aside. Piers pounces Lloyd with a yelp. The effect is another click, and another lightning ball. Aurian deflects it too, but it looks like the second spell strains her concentration on the first. Lloyd carefully gets up. Piers is clinging tightly to Lloyd's back.

"What was that?" Lloyd asks, looking like he doesn't notice Piers, until he sees the mariner's arms and blinks.

"Looks like an electric shock." Sheena says.

"It appears when you step on the switch, lightning strikes the rod." Raine indicates the pillar ahead of them. Piers is whimpering slightly. Lloyd looks like he's debating prying him off, then decides he'd do that in a moment.

"Hey, Sheena. You've been here before, right? What did you do that time?"

"I... I don't really know anything about the traps in the temple. The others from Mizuho cleared them for me." Sheena shrugs sheepishly.

* * *

February 15th

* * *

Even with the interrupted sleep they got due to Piers' constant whimpering, they got three new Sorcerer's rings, which gave Yellow, Blue and Red arcs of electricity off, and completed the Temple of Lightning before lunch. So they ate before they pushed the switch to set the lightning rod up in seal and summon Volt to them. Piers is in Lloyd's bubble again, but not when he shoots electricity. Then he invades Daichi's.

"It's finally time." Lloyd give a supportive grin to Sheena, standing back so the summoner can push the switch to make the lightning rod go up and get struck and probably summon Volt.

Sheena gives a shaky grin and takes a deep breath. "...Here I go!" Sheena pushes the button. The rod pops up, Zelos winks, and lightning strikes it repeatedly. The charge on it grows, and forms a large violet ball of electricity with red and gold eyes.

". . . . ." Aurian clutches her ears while Genis looks startled, Raine blinks. Lloyd, Zelos, Sheena, Presea and Regal look like they heard static.

"...It's just like before!" Sheena's voice rises in panic. "What in Niflheim is he saying?"

Daichi looks startled, holding his ears again. "C-Calm down, Sheena..."

"_I am one who is bound to Mithos_." Aurian and Daichi say in unison, the elf holding her ears and staring at Volt. "_Who are you_?"

"What?" Sheena stares at them as they look at each other, and the others at them.

"That sounded a little creepy." Genis points out.

"Lady Sheena! Introduce yourself like you have for the other Spirits." Shikka points.

"Mithos again?" Lloyd mutters. "How could he make pacts with Summon Spirits in both Tethe'Alla and Sylvarant?"

"Hmm, yeah. Maybe Mithos went back and forth between the worlds with a Rheaird as well." Genis says.

"I am Sheena!" Sheena shouts. "I ask that thou annulst thy pact with Mithos and establish a new pact with me." Piers is hidden behind Shikka.

". . . ." Volt stares at her.

"_My pact with Mithos is broken_." Aurian and Daichi translate for the humans. "_I no longer desire a pact._"

Sheena double takes. "...Why?"

". . . ."

"_I will have no more dealings with people, therefore I desire no pact._" Aurian and Daichi relay.

"No, we need your help!" Sheena says, whipping out her cards.

"Sheena!" Lloyd spots extra sparks to Volts lightning form. "Be careful!" Daichi winces slightly. Piers is looking a little more nervous. Sheena tries to fling a card at Volt to stop what they think is casting, but Volt unleashes a large lightning spell first. Aurian doesn't call out its name because they're all flying down to the main level of the large room from the third. Everyone's blacked out, seemingly dead. The only sign of life is Piers' slight spasming as though he's having a seizure. Sheena gets to her knees at least.

"Everyone, watch out! This is just like before!" Volt floats down to their level as she holds her head, freaking out, and Volt charges up a little lightning ball, like the one Yuan almost used on Lloyd. Before it can hit Sheena, Corrine appears and takes the hit. Daichi sits up.

"..." His wings fan free. Shikka is holding his head, and Piers is sparking, swearing every time it happens. Aurian's curled on her side, sounding like she's having a hardtime with breathing, and Zelos is also swearing fit to gain a concussion from Raine. Corrine, still spasming from the lightning, hits the ground.

"..Corrine!" Sheena screams. "Corrine! Why?"

Lloyd manages to stumble over and redirect the next lightning attack by throwing a sword into it. "Sheena! Get a hold of yourself!"

Daichi stands. "..." Seems he's in full anti-emotion mode.

Piers stands. "_W-wish Well_!" He sparks. "Damnit!" The healing spell washes over the party like cooling water.

"...But!" Sheena's cradling Corrine.

"Volt's... just lost his faith in people." Corrine croaks out. Raine's slowly muttering the chant for a large healing spell as well. Regal and Presea are getting to their feet as well, and Genis is holding his head. "Make your vow and try forming a pact one more time. You can do it, Sheena!"

Piers limps up to Sheena. "You're the only one who-" Spark. "Damnit! Can! Do it!"

Sheena's a little distracted by Corrine starting to fade. "Corrine!"

"I'm sorry... that I couldn't be more help." Corrine vanishes. Lloyd throws his other sword to deflect a lightning bolt, and fishes in his pack for another pair of metal ones.

"Sheena! Subdue Volt by force! Don't let Corrine's effort go to waste! Otherwise, you'll spend the rest of your life haunted by Volt's shadow!" Lloyd shouts.

Daichi, self-preservation kicking in, is singing. "... Borderline. Dead inside..." He doesn't seem to know all the words... Piers fires off another _Wish Well_.

Sheena grabs the bell Corrine used to wear, and stands up as Lloyd throws another sword. "...For the sake of everyone that risked their lives to protect me, Volt! I demand your power!"

"It's pancake time!" Genis chants, on his feet and backed away from Volt, earthen brown lights flaring about him. Lloyd scrambles to reclaim his blades.

"Show me what it's like, to dream in black and white..." Daichi is mutter-mumbling the words. Shikka is on the sidelines, readying gels and bottles. Aurian's muttering about a stupid ball of sparks while Genis shouts "_Stalagmite_" and Zelos "_Grave_!" Sheena's swipping her seals at Volt, using every Arte she has with them to lock down his speed, movement, magic. Earthen brown runes are flaring about Aurian in a storm while Raine flicks _First Aid_ about and Regal uses something called _'Healer'_. Piers is spamming _Ply_ and _Wish_ in-between his Volt-related spasms. Daichi finishes casting, his wings flare, sending out blue feathers that heal and seem to boost Magical Defense slightly.

"_Rock Mountain_!" Aurian casts, and boulders fall from whatever void where all their spell effects come from, showering down on Volt before one the size of a house lands as well. Lloyd's pretty much just running around to distract Volt, and Presea starts knocking some of the smaller boulders back into Volt.

"Power that lets souls shine... _Photon_!" Daichi casts the orb of light at Volt, before throwing boulders, only much larger ones, into the Spirit, also. Regal keeps with his not-quite-Mana healing artes, although he does kick a few boulders into Volt as well. Genis starts up _Stalagmite_ again, and Zelos is spamming _Grave_. Volt isn't given much chance to move. Daichi throws a few more _Photons_ at Volt, Piers keeping up the healing. For a floating ball of lightning, Volt looks grumpy as it closes its eyes.

". . . !" The next thing they now, there's a big old lightning attack, a large seal that lightning rained down on, about Volt. Lloyd yelps and scrambles away, Sheena _Guardians_, and Presea does her own version of the guarding arte. Piers just dodges the attack rather successfully, as does Daichi. He starts casting a light spell. Raine uses a large healing arte while Aurian starts chanting again for a large Earth spell, while Genis fires off _Stalagmite_ and Zelos _Grave_. Lloyd's looking crafty as he fires off a _Demon Fang_ that makes rocks fly, calling it '_Grave Fang_'.

"Oh, mighty weapon of brightest light, rain down upon the unclean before me..." Daichi opens his eyes. "_Holy Lance_!" As the light spell hits Volt, it shudders, closes its eyes, and hits the ground.

Piers relaxes, spasming. "G-Glad that's over..." Aurian's spell runes die down, and she looks ready to fall over and asleep. Then Volt opens its eyes and floats up.

"... aw, crap." Lloyd mutters. Daichi hovers there, watching the summon with empty red eyes.

". . . ."

"_Make your vow._" Aurian and Daichi say in unison again.

Shikka nudges Sheena forward. "Go for it, Lady Sheena."

Sheena stumbles over a rock that started vanishing after she'd stepped on it. "Exactly as I said." She tells Volt. "For the sake of everyone that risked their lives to protect me, and for Corrine's sake as well, I want to save both worlds..."

". . . ." Volt stares at her.

"_The vow has been made. I entrust my power to the pact-maker, Sheena_." Aurian and Daichi translate. Piers sparks again.

"Argh!" He yells, frustrated. Volt condenses into a sparkly, then drops into Sheena's hand.

"It's over..." Sheena whispers, looking over a Sardonyx on a plain ring.

"Good! Can we leave! Now?" Piers growls, looking ready to kill something. Mana flares across the room, however. Daichi shivers as the Mana lights pass through his wings. The Mana that flashes through the air isn't just that of Volt, but the blue of Undine as well.

"...What's happening?" Lloyd asks, trying to shove his still blond hair down a bit. Undine appears.

"A link between the two worlds has been severed..." She announces. Piers sparks.

"Aargh!" He's ruining the moment, not that it's his fault.

Volt reappears as well. ". . . ."

"_Two opposing forces of Mana were severed just now_." Aurian and Daichi translate. Raine looks confused. Daichi's voice is completely hollow, it's spooky.

"What does it mean for the Mana flow to be severed?" Regal asks the spirits.

"Mana flows from the world in which the Summon Spirits sleep to the world in which the Summon Spirits are awake. This is the first time the Summon Spirits have been awakened in both worlds at the same time. Because of this, the Mana connecting the two worlds has been eliminated." Undine explains.

"Does that mean that Sylvarant and Tethe'Alla have stopped competing for each other's Mana?" Lloyd asks, looking hopeful.

". . . ."

"_I do not know_." Aurian and Daichi translate. "_The only thing certain is that the flow of Mana between the worlds has been severed._"

"That's three times you've repeated the same thing." Piers comments testily.

". . . ." Volt looks at Piers.

"_Undine said it the first time, not I_." Aurian and Daichi translate.

"..." Piers evidentially doesn't like Volt. He spasms.

"You mean the two worlds will split apart?" Genis blinks.

"That's perfect!" Zelos crows. "Then they'll stop competing for each other's Mana!"

"There are five seals in Sylvarant. And since there wasn't a Summon Spirit at the fifth seal, we should be able to sever all of the Mana if we awaken the Summon Spirits that correspond to the other four seals." Raine mutters. "...Maybe."

Daichi stares at Raine. "...What will happen to Sylvarant?" He asks. "The world is still depleted of Mana."

"It's gaining Mana right now, siphoning off of Tethe'Alla." Sheena points. "I can sort of feel it; Tethe'Alla's Mana's thinner than it used to be."

"So if we walk rather than run, Sylvarant can get enough Mana from Tethe'Alla, that they both can survive." Raine muses. Aurian looks like she's having a moment where thinking isn't working.

"That is a logical answer." Daichi comments, emptily. It's a weird sound...

"So if we awaken Tethe'Alla's Summon Spirits, we'll save Sylvarant without having Tethe'Alla go into decline, right?" Lloyd spins to ask the spirits.

"At the least, the Mana connecting the worlds will disappear and the two worlds will separate." Undine says.

"The Mana ties may not be the only thing keeping the worlds together." Shikka points out.

". . . ."

"_As far as we are aware, they are._" Aurian and Daichi translate for Volt, before the pair of summons vanish.

"I see." Regal's looking thoughtful. "So the seals serve as a link between the two worlds." Daichi stares off. Zelos is starting to poke the half-elf.

"...We owe it all to you, Sheena." Presea says. "..And Corrine as well."

"...Huh?" Sheena blinks.

"Because the two of you risked your lives to form a pact with Volt, we now know what the seals do." Presea says.

"Yes. If it wasn't for Sheena and Corrine, we would not be here this moment." Daichi responds blankly, ignoring Zelos' poking.

"It's thanks to both of you." Lloyd grins at her.

"Leave crashing loud building now?" Aurian asks, her hands over her ears.

"Good idea." Raine nods, giving everyone a First Aid.

"Yes! Finally!" Piers squirms.

The blue ninja appears before they get out of the Temple.

He looks them all over, and nods. "I guess you succeeded in forming the pact with Volt. Congratulations, Sheena."

"...Orochi, thank you." Sheena smiles. They continue outside with him.

Piers sparks once more. "GODAMNIT!" Raine doesn't bother whacking him.

"Now, the whereabouts of the Rheairds. Take a look at this map." Orochi spreads a map of Tethe'Alla, and indicates a place near the ice-continent, where many small glacier islands were marked. "The signal from Sheena's guardian was detected under the sea, southeast of here. A fjord-like area covered in ice is located there. That must be the entrance to the Renegade base."

Piers growls. "Good. Lets go. I want to give that bastard Yuan a piece of my mind."

"One, its dusk." Raine points out. "Two, it's a four day boat trip. Three, I don't want you in the EC until you're no longer charged."

"If it's underwater, does that mean we'll have to dive into the sea?" Lloyd asks.

Piers growls again. "Fine. Anyone wanna help me discharge?"

"Sorry, not into helping guys get off." Zelos says.

"Don't worry about that. I'll go on ahead and make preparations. You guys join me later on." Orochi is adept at ignoring Tethe'Allan Chosens. And Piers turns, walking over to Zelos and punching him hard, in the face. Zelos yelps, spazzing as he goes skidding back. Orochi ninja-poofs away.

"Okay, camp time." Lloyd says, looking about.

"How about next to the dock?" Sheena asks, as they ignore Zelos. Piers sighs, relaxing. He seems a lot calmer. Zelos is swearing under his breath, his hair starting to behave badly.

* * *

Yay


	44. Ozone and Soil

February 20th

* * *

The group hurries to a blue shape near the paler blue doors in the side of the small island Orochi had marked on their map under the cover of snow.

"This way!" Orochi calls.

"What would we do without ninjas." Piers seems to be a lot more cheery since being around water.

"Isn't he a Renegade?" Lloyd indicates the green-Desian-armored man beside Orochi.

"Relax. He's one of our people who've infiltrated the Renegades. It's the easiest way to investigate the declining world of Sylvarant." Orochi says. Daichi is wearing his armor, looking slightly depressed as he senses the glaring Aurian is giving him. Aurian's standing with Shikka between her and Daichi.

"Wow! So you guys even keep tabs on Sylvarant!" Lloyd seems to think it's cool rather than a bit creepy.

"I'm the guard on duty at the moment. Please go in through the entrance now." The Renegade-Ninja says. Daichi has Piers and Lloyd between him and Shikka and Aurian. He doesn't want to make the elf uncomfortable.

"Well then, it's time for us to get in there and get those Rheairds." Zelos smirks, eyeing the doors.

"Aren't we in a hurry, Lloyd?" Regal asks.

"Yeah, let's go." Lloyd's grinning again. Orochi nods and leads the way. Somehow, in the span of a short room and then three pillars in a larger one, they've managed to lose Zelos.

"Hmm?" Lloyd blinks. "Hey, Zelos is gone."

"Good." Piers mutters. Raine shakes her head, a little amused.

"You're right. I wonder what happened to him." Presea blinks about too.

"Ah, hey, sorry to keep you waiting, my cute hunnies. Were you lonely?" Zelos returns. Piers stares at Zelos, slightly horrified.

"... What were you doing?" Regal asks. "It is worrying when a part of the group vanishes."

"I was just taking a quick look around the area." Zelos shrugs, smirking. "We wouldn't want to walk into a trap, now, would we? Well, not it's time to start the adventure of the Great Zelos and his cute hunnies~!"

"I'll explain the infiltration procedure. Please come this way." Orochi is very good at ignoring inner-party-strife.

"Of course not, oh great puddle." Zelos sketches a mock bow, and hurries after Orochi.

Piers starts glowing. "_Deluge_!" He blasts Zelos into a wall. Zelos _Guardian_s and bounces off the wall in his green bubble.

"If you make too much noise, you're going to bring the Renegades down on us." Orochi says, glancing back as he opens a door. "I know you've carved your way through to Desian Bases, but I'd rather not have our operatives compromised."

"I'd rather drown Zelos, but I see your point."

"Good." Orochi says, keeping the door open for them. Zelos shakes himself out, because as good as _Guardian_ is, it isn't air or water tight, and they follow the ninja. After they're all in, Orochi indicates a machine against one wall and explains it contains gels for purchase.

"There's no time." Orochi explains, pulling up a base map. "I'm going to make this quick. The Rheaird Hangar is in the deepest part of this facility. There's only one passage to the hangar."

"Sounds like a piece of cake." Zelos says, watching Orochi indicate the room.

"It can't be that simple." Piers says, indicating that Zelos is an idiot.

"I'm not done." Orochi seems to agree with Piers. "Even if you get to the hanger, the door will be shut."

"So it's locked." Raine says, finishing restocking their Gel and Bottle supply.

"Yes." Orochi says. "In order to open that lock, you must enter a pass code."

"...How many pass codes?" Daichi asks.

"Three." Orochi says.

"So, tell us the pass code?" Lloyd asks.

"I'm sorry. We did our best, but we weren't able to get them. Each code is in the possession of a different Renegade, we managed to find that out." Orochi says.

"...Fun." Piers comments, folding his arms.

"In other words, we need to catch those three and get them to tell us the pass codes?" Lloyd asks, looking like he's debating what 'catch and get them to tell' means.

"Yes. I'll remain here and support you. If you need something, come talk to me." Orochi says. "One last thing. Even if you acquire the Rheairds, it's highly unlikely they'll be able to make the transfer to Sylvarant in their current condition."

"Why?" Lloyd asks.

"The Rheaird dimensional transfer system functions by procuring energy from the Renegade bases in the two worlds. Flying is not a problem as long as you have Volt, but without the energy charge from the base..." Orochi trails off.

"So, we need the Renegade bases to actually open the portal...?" Daichi comments.

"Yes." Orochi says.

"Then we were lucky that they were already charged when we escaped from the Sylvarant one." Raine says.

"There's no choice." Lloyd shrugs. "Right now, we only really need the ability to fly."

"That's a plus..." Piers comments.

Daichi shivers slightly. "'s cold in here."

"Is it?" Everyone blinks at him.

"It's actually warm in here." Sheena says. "Like how the other one was rather cool for being in a desert."

Lloyd waves a hand next to Daichi. "Weird." Everyone turns and looks at Aurian.

Aurian blinks at them. "... what?" Lloyd's hopping from the cold air near Daichi, to the warmer air outside the cold bubble, muttering 'cold' and 'hot' for their respective temperatures.

"You're controlling the air around Daichi, aren't you?" Piers asks. Aurian blinks once, tilting her head and blinking again.

"... maybe." She sounds a little startled.

"He's not doing it to offend you, you know." Shikka comments, standing close to hug her.

"..." She gives Shikka a confused look. "... Offend...?" Raine's muttering to herself, sounding like she's making lesson plans to help educate the elf.

"Uh...Hurt you?" He tries to simplify.

"Insult." Raine offers a synonym. "Hurt your feelings."

"... oh." Aurian blinks, giving Daichi a slightly distrustful look, but inches behind Shikka again without visibly doing anything more. The cold air about Daichi starts to return to normal temperature though.

"As interesting as you all are, shouldn't you be finding pass codes?" Orochi coughs and indicates that they should be moving out.

"Right." Lloyd spins about and starts out. Daichi smirks, heading off.

"So how are we planning on doing this?" Sheena asks. "We're noticeable. And that map was large. It'll probably take us a day to get past all the techy traps they have in here to get to the hanger."

"And that's not counting time to search out the pass code holding Renegades." Raine says.

"Well, we need to set up a meeting point." Piers comments.

"Yes." Raine nods. "Somewhere that won't be frequented by Renegades."

"A storage room?" Lloyd offers. "Like the one we ducked into in the Sylvarant base?"

"That'll work." Piers comments.

"Now to find one." Regal says, looking down the hall. "Before too many Renegades find us."

"Three doors down on the left." Aurian mutters. They look at her. "Looked like small room." she shrugs, bringing the map up again.

"We should give Aurian the map more often." Daichi comments.

"...Why?" Lloyd asks, as they start down Aurian's directions.

"Because she has an awesome sense of direction." Daichi says.

"... I think I'll agree." Genis says, as he opens the door and tentatively pokes it open. It's a dusty looking storage room.

"Hey...I'm in my Desian uniform...Which is kinda like a Renegade uniform..." Daichi comments.

"... so?" Lloyd blinks, and Aurian gives him a mildly grumpy look, then blinks again.

"...I can go about and get the pass codes." He states.

"... Ooooohh." Lloyd gets it. "Uh, sure." Lloyd scratches his head.

"Okay! I'll be back in a bit." He's left his axe behind.

Two days later, Daichi returns to the slightly stir crazy group in the storage closet with the third pass code. There are some red stains on Daichi's palms, like he's hurriedly tried to scrub something free.

Lloyd notices. "... why do you have blood on you?"

"It's not blood..." Daichi stuffs his hands in his pockets. "It's, uh, ketchup." Mentioned of the feared red fruit has Lloyd not bothering them.

"Let's sleep, and then head to the hanger in the morning." Raine says. Zelos had found a clock in one of the boxes, and they'd been using that to keep track of time rather than internal clocks.

"This may be something bad, but someone saw me getting the last pass code." Daichi mentions.

"... What?" Is the general reaction.

"Did anyone follow you here?" Raine asks, frowning a little.

"No. I didn't hear or see anyone." He sits down. "I think it was Botta."

"Why do you think it was Botta?" Lloyd asks.

"Smelt earth and thought I heard robe-like sounds. Earth smell was a bit Mana-like."

"Pepper?" Aurian asks.

"Eh?" Zelos blinks.

"You remember?" Genis blinks.

"... No." Aurian shakes her head.

"No. Just smelt like fried mud." Daichi points out.

"...okay..." Lloyd blinks at him.

"Daichi. Clean off." Raine throws a dusty towel at him.

Daichi coughs. "How? There's no running water. We're in a cupboard." Raine glances at Piers, then back to Daichi. She also gives Genis and Aurian a speculative look.

Piers catches the look. "No. No way. Not doing it."

"Well, having Piers do so would be safer." Genis muses. "Aurian's in a bad mood with him, and I'm not used to using my water spells in a non-harmful manner."

"You think it would be safer?" Daichi says. "Personally, I would rather give Aur a Mana pistol and trust her not to pull the trigger!" Everyone blinks a little, figuring out how much trust that actually means.

"... Who's Aur?" Aurian blinks.

"It's you." Shikka points out.

"... but I'm Aurian." the elf looks confused.

"What are the first three letters of your name?" The lion asks, tail twitching. Aurian blinks a few times, frowning as she tries to figure it out.

"... A u r." Genis offers her. "Then I a n."

"A u r?" Aurian blinks at Shikka. Raine's head-walling.

"What does that spell out? A U R spells Aur." Shikka explains.

"... Ooooooh." Aurian blinks. "... I get it."

Lloyd blinks. "That was fast." Shikka smiles lightly. Raine gasps.

"Yay!" Zelos cheers. "Ms Elf learned something today!" Aurian blinks blankly at him when he moves like he's going to hug her. Shikka is in Zelos' path, still smiling. Zelos blinks, then shrugs, giving up.

"In any case, we should rest before we move." Raine says.

"... But I wanna move." Lloyd says, frowning. It's not surprising that he's the most stir-crazed. Shikka sits down, yawning, cat-like. Daichi cuddles up into a corner.

"Too bad." Raine tells him. "Let's get a couple more hours of rest, so that it'll be in one of the awkwardly early morning times. It'll be easier to get to the Rheairds without running into too many people, and we'll need it to get through the defenses." Lloyd blinks, then grumbles and flops onto the floor.

"You guys seem a little tense." Daichi comments.

"We've been stuck in a storage closet together for the past two days." Sheena points out. "And the closet's smaller than the EC."

"And Zelos is still here." Genis mutters.

"You have a point." Daichi admits. "Why aren't you suffering from closet fever?" He asks Shikka.

"Oh, nothing could annoy me that much, sir Daichi."

"And Aurian found the emergency lights, so she's been fine." Raine points to some dimly glowing tubes on the floor, and the elf staring intently at one that's glowing brightly.

"I've still got a book." Genis says.

"And you shouldn't be reading in this light." Raine points out.

"And sir Piers has been baiting sirs Lloyd and Zelos for some time."

"And I've been to intent on getting Colette back to care." Lloyd points out, although he does shove a little pile of wood shavings under one of the shelves.

"And I've been trying to get Pops to talk to me." Zelos shrugs, indicating Regal, who looked more or less like he always does.

Daichi grunts. "Fair point."

* * *

After passing laser systems that blocked their path, they reached the door with the machine to input their pass code. Lloyd looks at it, then blinks at Daichi.

"Needs words." He shrugs, stepping back.

Daichi inputs the pass code. "Cheesy. Ours were better."

"All right." Lloyd watches the door open, then heads carefully in, looking for one of those thin crystal-light bars that were the lasers. There wasn't any, just a big room and a wing of Rheairds, some unidentifiable machines, and another of those 'shop machines'. Daichi walks over to it and buys several Mélange Gels. The moment they're all in and halfway across the room, the door clicks shut.

"So you've come." Yuan stands up, from the corner to the right of the door. "Like moths to the flame."

"... Do you ever say anything original?" Lloyd blinks at Yuan, and from the other corner, Botta stops leaning on the wall.

"So it was you..." Daichi comments towards Botta, glassesflashing.

"You gotta admit, that line is seriously clichéd." Zelos drawls, watching Yuan.

"I see your attitudes haven't changed! But your impudence ends here!" Yuan gives an annoyed, vaguely bitter little laugh. "... What did you do to Irving's hair?" He blinks at Lloyd. Daichi and Genis burst out laughing. Lloyd's expression flat lines.

"...None of your business." Lloyd grumbles, trying to ignore the blonde in his vision.

"... Either way." Yuan held his right hand out palm down before him. "Prepare to die." A teal glow surrounds his hand and the next moment, his got this double bladed pole arm of sorts. One a little shorter than his six-even height. Daichi and Piers draw their weapons. Shikka decides he wants in on this fight and shifts into lion form. Aurian pulls out her glaive and everyone else shifts a little, drawing their weapons. Botta and Yuan were on opposite sides of the room, and didn't so much as glance at each other before lunging toward the party. Yuan was targeting Piers, and Botta headed for Regal, his large curved blade ready. Piers yells out, starting to slash and swipe at Yuan. He keeps a relentless assault, but is being bested at every point.

The sword glows and an unearthly voice screams. "_Stone Blast_!" The earth opens under Yuan, blasting rocks up. Yuan gives him a look. It's a look that says 'nice try.' Yuan uses the rocks to get higher into the air, before flipping forward with the blade first.

"_Thunder Explosion_!" Yuan snaps.

"_Stalagmite_!" Botta's holding his own against Regal, Presea, and Aurian's vaguely clumsy strikes. Lloyd looks between Yuan and Botta, then decides to attack Botta, and Zelos shrugs and moves in on Yuan. Raine chants. Piers runs, managing to evade the explosion. And Shikka promptly pounces Yuan.

"Not so fast, brat." Yuan twists so that the blade is angled for Shikka's neck and his foot for the lower part of the lion's chest cavity, his form flickering with violet sparks. Botta's knocked Aurian's glaive away from her, causing the elf to back off and find it, while Genis is chanting.

"Wave full of wisdom, swallow the misfortune done by the ravages of war!" Raine casts _Nurse_. Shikka is, luckily, kicked away before being sliced.

Piers uses this opportunity. "Go! _Diamond Dust_!" Yuan grumbles, a protective net of lightning, rather than the shield-bubble, forming about him. One of the chunks of ice clonks the top of his head, and another his shoulder, but most are sent crackling away from him via lightning.

"... I think he's more attuned to Lightning that we thought." Regal grunts, catching sight of that.

"_Tidal Wave_!" Genis sweeps the Kendama, and spends the water swirling. Daichi is facing down Botta, not resorting to Angel yet. He keeps pounding for the Renegade using Strike Artes. Yuan yelps as the water spell sweeps through the room, although all it really seems he's yelping about is the cloud of steam he raised, sparks racing with the spell as it moves. His hair's all frizzed now, although the long tail seems to be doing better than his flop.

"_Wind Blade_!" Zelos calls, knocking more of the water up at Yuan.

"_Deluge_!" Piers calls out, aiming at Yuan. There's a great cloud of crackling steam, and Yuan yelps again. Botta takes no notice, knocking Earth Strike Artes at Daichi. This should cue them in to something.

"... Cruxis taken brats..." Yuan growls, unleashing a shockwave of lightning.

"... crap." Genis blinks.

"What's going on?" Piers says, looking nervous.

"He's not weak against water." Genis mutters. "Lightning's supposed to be weak against water, and the opposite. But he's just getting annoyed and shaking it off." Yuan's spinning his blade, crackling with lightning as he starts casting. Zelos's eyes widen and he tries to jump Yuan, only to get batted away by the blade. Daichi is still concentrating on Botta, breaking through the earth being blasted at him.

"Thanks for gathering together for me. _Indignation_!" Yuan shouts, the seal forming over where Raine was casting. Raine hurriedly casts Nurse and starts to run out of the seal, which was at least twice the size of the one Genis used. Botta casts _Ground Dasher_ at Daichi, while Yuan moves around the battle, and starts casting again.

"Come forth, oh holy waters! _Blessed Drops_!" Daichi flings the water spell at Botta. Botta grimaces, moving out of the spell, but not fast enough to avoid getting half-drenched. Aurian's quietly chanting something that has her flitting with red runes.

"_Master Field_!" Yuan snarls, looking thoroughly irritated at this point, the large seal that was familiar due to the recent battle with Volt forming.

"Crap!" Piers runs, trying to get out of range.

"Not so fast." Botta makes the ground buck and heave, slamming his blade into it. The ripples seem to be knocking them for the Seal that Yuan had cast out. Shikka growls, running towards the blue haired half-elf, roaring loudly. Yuan's spell fires, hitting a handful of the party as they scramble against Botta's spell to get out.

Aurian casts her spell before the lightning sends her skidding. "_Raging_ _Ground_!" The floor literally catches on fire. Yuan spins to look at Shikka, leveling his blade at the lion, before he has to do one of those little dances to get the fire off his legs. Shikka ducks under the blade, aiming to pounce the bluenette. It helps that Yuan's flailing a little as his pants are on fire.

It helps even more that Lloyd darts in on the other side, slamming his shoulder into the blue haired half-elf with a cry of "_Beast_!" His hair sticking up far worse than it normally does. Shikka is not looking happy. The lion is all poofy. He growls deeply, paw planted on Yuan's chest. Yuan gives him a look that says 'sure, try to gut me. I'll electrocute you', his flop of hair also frizzed up. It doesn't help that his shirt's caught aflame either.

"Sir!" Botta shouts, earthen brown runes flickering about him.

Daichi rams into Botta from behind. "Don't start what you can't finish!" Botta grunts, sweeping his blade for Daichi as he sabotages the spell into an earthen demon fang. Yuan charges himself with enough lighting to use _Thunder Blade_. And Shikka jumps, moving back from Yuan, growling lowly. Daichi quickly backs off, _Guardian_ing against the earthen _Demon Fang_. And so Yuan scrambles away, before tripping over onto his face.

"Impossible!" Yuan grunts as Botta stops before him. "How could I lose?"

"Thank you, sir." Botta says dryly.

"I know you lose all the time." Yuan grumbles, before his eyes flick to Lloyd. "Lloyd, your Exsphere...to think that it's really evolving..." Yuan looks amused.

"Wait...Exspheres evolve?" Daichi blinks. "First I've heard of it."

"My Exsphere?" Lloyd pauses, looking puzzled. Then an earthquake happens.

"What's this shaking?" Yuan had been about to stand but the earthquake throws him off balance again.

"It isn't me." Botta says.

"Woo! Distractions!" Piers runs over to his Rheaird.

"Lloyd! Now is our chance!" Regal's pulling Aurian to her feet and lightly pushes the elf and her glaive toward a Rheaird. "Let's take the Rheairds, now!"

"A.." Lloyd looks torn between getting information from Yuan, and leaving. "All right." Daichi grumbles, selecting a machine and Shikka shifts back into human form, stumbling, but manages to get to a Rheaird and not pass out on it. And they all fly free from the Renegade base hanger.


	45. Fragile Wings

March 25th

* * *

"We finally found you!" Lloyd grins, speeding his Rheaird up for the floating sky-island. "Colette!" Lloyd nearly crashes his Rheaird in his hurry to jump off it to go to his friend. Everyone else lands much more safely.

"...No, Lloyd, stay away!" Colette spots them from inside an orange force dome. "It's a trap!"

"...What?" Lloyd skids to a halt. Rodyle appears.

"You will pay for using me!" Presea pulls her ax out. "Let Colette go!" Presea attempts to attack Rodyle. She goes right through him and he vanishes.

"... An illusion?" Raine blinks.

"No... A hologram. The Desians can use them to communicate between ranches..." Daichi states.

Rodyle reappears, laughing. "You can have that worthless Chosen! Now I understand why Lord Yggdrasill left her alone."

"Worthless?" It seems that Rodyle found another of Lloyd's disliked words.

"Absolutely. A sinful Chosen like that is completely useless for my Mana Cannon. She can't even save the world. She can't merge with Martel. She even puts her friends in danger." Rodyle sneers at Colette. "What a pathetic Chosen."

"Okay. This guy is pissing me off more than usual..." Daichi grumbles.

"Stop blaming Colette for things she did not do!" Presea says.

"Indeed. It is enough that I alone bear the weight of sin." Regal starts of low, then gets louder and angrier. "You and I are the epitome of sin! I'll drag you down to hell with me!"

"Take me to hell?" Rodyle gives them a sneer. "You inferior beings and your silly jokes."

There is one phrase that irks Daichi more than anything. "You bastard, Rodyle! How about we inferior beings..." the rest is too expletive.

"So violent." Rodyle cackles. Lloyd starts to head over to Colette.

"Everyone, please, run!" Colette insists. She's tearing up.

Piers runs to the cage. "We're not leaving you!"

"Now, my darling pets! Feed on the flesh of these wretched beings!" Rodyle cackles, as the floating island shudders, and one of the three overhangs gains a dragons head, two much smaller ones flying in.

"Don't try to fight them! Run!" Colette insists.

"We're more than a match for these flying handbags!" Daichi says, raising his axe. Piers draws his sword.

"Winged dragon, a subspecies of dragon. Carnivorous. Excels at the pursuit and capture of prey. The probability of successful evasion on this small platform is one percent." Presea Encyclopedia says.

"Give me a break! I'll pass on dying, thanks!" Zelos twirls his blade.

Piers growls slightly. "I'll try to ground them by freezing their wings."

"All we have to do is defeat them before they can kill us!" Lloyd's got both his blades out in a cross before him.

"Indeed. I have no intention of becoming a part of the food chain without a fight." Regal says. Aurian's staring at the dragons, and looks like she's debating what sort of spell to use by the way her ears are flicking a mile a minute.

"I say we target the wings! If they can't fly, we might win. " Daichi says, plotting himself.

"Go for it-Ah!" Lloyd was in mid leap for one of the smaller dragon's wings when the head ducked out of sight from its pipe and popped out one closer, swinging back and forth to knock Lloyd back. Piers seems to be casting a little longer than usual. A cluster of blue lights is flickering about one of the smaller dragon's wings. Daichi is just aiming strike Artes as soon as they get close. Aurian starts flickering with blue white runes while Lloyd tumbles and stabs his blades into the surface of the floating island to prevent himself from going off it. Genis is casting _Icicle Rain_, the ice flying for the head that is of an dragon apparently in the sky island, while Raine casts quick _First Aids_. Presea and Regal are waiting for the dragons to crash from Piers' spells.

"_Cool_!" Piers yells. The sparks crystallize over a wing, causing a dragon to crash.

"_Tethe'Seal : Lightning_!" Sheena shouts, slapping a Seal onto Daichi as she waits next to him. Regal and Presea jump the downed dragon, while Genis started casting something else as the dragon popped back into the next and out another of the pipe like formations. Aurian's chanting under her breath. Daichi sparks slightly, running forward and starting to attack the dragon with Regal and Presea.

"_Wind_ _Blade_!" Zelos targets the other dragon's wings, before darting along the island to avoid getting whacked with the head of the Winged Dragon. Lloyd has to jump back to avoid getting chomped on twice - the Winged Dragon had a double jaw going on. Sheena slaps more _Tethe'Seal : Lightning_'s out.

"_Dark Destruction - Thunder_!" The normally darkness attribute Strike Arte brings on a thunder type, the explosion sending shockwaves of electricity through the downed dragon.

"Oh frozen land, rise up against these and grant them thy chill embrace." Aurian mumbles, as her spell-runes flit and firm. "_Blizzard_!" She calls one down. Despite Lloyd's yelp, her allies find themselves receiving a chill breeze, rather than the snow that shredded through the wings of the remaining Dragon with Zelos' strike. Daichi continues to pound away at the one Piers downed, using his new found skills. Lloyd's finding _Lightning Tiger Blade _much easier with the _Tethe'Seal_, and proceeds to spam that whenever he gets up to Wing Dragon's head. The dragon that is being beat upon by Regal, Daichi and Presea gives out a keening scream, and stops flailing. The Wing Dragon roars angrily. Daichi whirls to the other dragon, charging forward to start attacking it. The Wing Dragon roars again, earthen brown lights flaring from it.

"Crap! It's got magic!" Zelos backpedals as the floating island begins shaking, looking like _Ground Dasher_ had been cast.

Piers yelps, backpedaling. "Hey! Protect me while I'm casting!"

"Right!" Lloyd shouts, before jumping the dragon's head.

"Lloyd, that's not protecting him." Zelos calls, also attacking the head.

"A good Defense can be a good offense!" Lloyd retorts. Daichi keeps wailing on the downed dragon. Piers is casting many an ice spell at the head. Aurian's casting again, as the blizzard stops howling so much, an earth looking spell. Genis swaps between _Icicle Rain, Freeze Lancer_ and _Ice Tornado_ as he too attacks the Wing Dragon. Lloyd's finding the snow to not be helpful, and Zelos takes care of it with an _Eruption_. Piers is using a variety of _Cool_, _Diamond Dust_ and _Tundra_. Aurian doesn't attack the dragon, but one of the rock-tubes shatters as she casts her earth spell directly inside. The wing dragon moves to the other tube it can stick its head out from, and the baby dragon that Daichi, Presea and Regal had turned to gives a keening scream as well. Down to one.

"Hahah!" Daichi seems to be enjoying himself a bit too much. He turns his back to the other two, beginning to cast himself. Aurian repeats her spell on the other rock-tunnel, preventing the dragon from moving about, but it retaliates with another _Ground Dasher_, causing them all to scramble about. The good thing was that Colette's prison was preventing her from being attacked, although she couldn't get any spells out of it either. Raine sets off _Field Barrier_ and _Acuteness_.

"Oh, blessed waters, come forth! _Blessed Drops_!" Daichi casts the spell at the dragon. It roars, trying to hammer Lloyd into the ground with its jaw, letting Regal and Presea dart up to whack it a few times and Zelos to try to jump on top of its head while Genis hits it with _Ice Tornado_. Piers is spamming _Tundra_, before suddenly stopping.

"Piers, are you all right?" Raine asks. Aurian's concentrating light spells, using them in a precise fashion that knocked it away from attacking the melee-fighters and kept it in range of them.

"Just ran out of power. Gimme a sec."

"Right." Raine shifts to infront of Piers, casting _Holy Lance _at the same time as Aurian on the Winged Dragon. Regal and Presea are bouncing the head between them with Strike Artes.

" Oh, powerful lord of the sea, lend me thy strength! I summon thee! _Boreas_!" Piers glows and, for a moment, nothing happens... Aurian's shivering and not casting anymore, reacting to Alchemy, and so Lloyd and the other melee fighters take it to their heads to back off. From nowhere a giant hunk of ice bursts from the ground and shatters. It looks like a giant ice crusher was inside.

"oookay." Lloyd blinks at it. The sages are itching slightly, and Aurian looks green. A hunk of ice slams into the back and a handle turns. Shredded ice the size of houses falls upon the dragon. And the wing dragon gives a keening scream, before its head falls to the nest surface. The floating island rumbles.

Piers glows an intense blue afterwards. "Wow. Didn't know Boreas was that powerful."

"Good job." Lloyd pats Piers' shoulder, turning back to Colette.

"No, it's too late!" Colette wails, as a fuchsia-magenta glow spreads from under her feet.

"What is this ominous light that threatens to engulf us?" Regal asks as he finds his feet stuck.

"Agh. I dunno, but it burns like hell!" Piers tries to pull free.

"Arrgh...I can't move!" Sheena yelps, trying to move as well.

"It's Colette!" Genis wails. "The Mana from Colette's body is flowing out toward us!" The island is giving bad rumbling noises now.

"It's caused by that magic circle beneath her!" Raine shouts.

"Can we dispel it?" Daichi asks, struggling. Raine tries Dispel. Her Mana simply vanishes into the spreading pool that is Colette's.

"Colette! Get out of there!" Lloyd shouts, pulling a foot out of a boot then finding the foot stuck. He sacrifices a sock to put his boot back on.

"I can't...I'm chained to it. I...I can't move. I'm sorry." Colette sounds like she's holding back tears.

"What the hell do we do?" Daichi growls, trying to thrash free.

"I'm just a Chosen who couldn't even save her friends, much less the world. Maybe I'm just like Rodyle said, 'a pathetic Chosen'..." Colette looks down.

"...No, Colette, don't delude yourself. You haven't done anything wrong. What's wrong is this system that demands the sacrifice of the Chosen!" Presea suddenly says, before slowly dragging her feet closer to Colette. The Mana isn't sticking well to her boots.

Daichi manages to take a few steps, just in front of Presea, but had been further in front of her. "Damnit!" Presea manages to pass Daichi, and she beats the barrier about Colette with her ax. It looks like she'd been hit by one of Yuan's zappy things the way she jerks and cries out.

"Presea!" Colette yelps, and takes a few steps to catch the pinkette. Her Mana returns to normal, freeing everyone. "Thank you.." Daichi and Piers, in unison, face plant to the ground, yelping.

The nest shakes quite a bit, hard enough to send Aurian tumbling over and force Zelos to wave his hands about to keep up. "Whoa, what's up with the ground?"

Daichi scrambles to his feet. "The barrier might have been keeping the nest up...Or Colette. Either or, it looks like its falling."

"We have to get out of here!" Lloyd sheathes his swords and fishes in his pocket for his Rheaird.

"Lloyd, I..." Colette clutches Presea as everyone else fumbles their Rheairds out.

"Colette!" Lloyd half roars it at her. "You have to live!" He pulls her toward a Rheaird, but she poofs her wings out again. Daichi is busy fumbling for his own Rheaird when Colette passes him holding Presea. The axe the pinkette is holding clonks him hard in the back as it swings free. Again, Daichi face plants, his wings being forced out.

"Sorry!" Colette yelps. the ground of the nest is starting to crumble and Aurian gets her Rheaird off before the land under it crumbles away.

"Up, up!" Lloyd's launching too. Daichi stands, red-eyed and emotionless. He flies up, screwing his Rheaird since he can now fly 'naturally'. And it crashes into the water after they're off the main island, falling in chunks. "Is everybody okay?" Lloyd shouts, leading them for land again.

"I'm still alive!" Zelos cheers. Piers groans. Daichi flies close to Lloyd. Shikka raises his hand, waving, having escaped in time also.

"It looks like everyone's all right." Sheena agrees.

"...But for what purpose did that Rodyle character kidnap Colette?" Regal muses.

"I don't think the Desians need an excuse or a reason...but it does seem odd..." Piers says.

"... I agree." Aurian mutters.

"He said he needed a Cruxis Crystal in order to control the Mana Cannon. But apparently, mine didn't work." Colette reports.

"Mana Cannon...?" Lloyd's head snapped about and nearly made him roll over on his Rheaird.

"...Damn. So that explains the whole 'useless' speech." Piers mumbles, scowling.

"Pietro, the man we saved in Hima, also spoke of this Mana Cannon." Raine mutters, starting the decent while Lloyd figures out his new trick. He starts rolling on purpose.

Piers watches. "Nobody asked you to do a barrel roll. Stop it before you fall off."

"... Right." Lloyd straightens his flight. They land. Daichi lands...and just stands there.

Piers hops off. "So. How come Daichi has no emotions, but Colette does? They seem the same type of angel."

"Are we sure him and the honey are the same sort of angel?" Zelos asks, hopping off the Rheaird.

"Well... The wings are similar." Colette fans her own. Lloyd's rubbing his left hand a little absently.

"Yeah. And Remiel has feathery wings. I'm assuming a different class."

"But Kratos' wings are rather like Colette's... but different shaped." Genis points out. "And colors and that too."

"Color, I'm guessing, is Mana based. In normal form, Daichi is a water magic user. And maybe the different shape is a different class, too?"

"...I've never seen Kratos use water." Lloyd mutters a little sourly. "Maybe color has nothing to do with element."

"Yggdrasill has bigger wings. Maybe shape and class too." Aurian mumbles. Daichi just stands there. He seems to be ignoring them.

"Presea's waking up!" Genis alerts them all. Lloyd drops his load of scrounged firewood and heads over to join the small mage in hovering over the pinkette. Piers leaves his puzzlement, running over also, looking Presea over for injuries. He gets a tiny sting - seems that what knocked Presea out was the Mana from the forcefield.

"Colette..." Presea blinks and finds the angel. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, thanks to you." Colette chirps. Presea says nothing, but gains a tiny, tiny smile. Piers backs off slightly, wincing, but blasts Presea with a Ply Well, just to make sure.

"Presea smiled!" Lloyd says, grinning.

"...She resembles her, just as I thought." Regal mutters.

"Okay then, now that my cute little Presea smiled, it's a good time to start thinking about the next step." Zelos muses. Genis jabs him in the sternum. And Piers bats him across the head with the hilt of his sword. As Zelos doubles over, Genis pretends nothing had happened.

"We got Colette back, so what now?" Genis asks.

"Dinner." Aurian says flatly, staring at the little fire she'd gotten up.

"... I think Genis meant a little more long term than that." Raine says, smiling a little.

Piers frowns lightly. "I think we should make pacts with the other Tethe'Allan summon spirits."

"Of course!" Lloyd says, pulling out the sack with names on chips and shaking it. "We've gotta separate the worlds."

"Let's start with Gnome." Sheena says. "He's over by Meltokio, and we should get it out of the way."

"So...Tomorrow, we head back to Meltokio." Piers says.

"We could stop by." Zelos agrees. "But, ya'know, the more often we stop by, the more often we might get someone on the guard who doesn't like me. We could just skip Meltokio if we're not hurting on supplies."

"And you're cooking!" Lloyd grins, shoving the cooking-utensil pack into Zelos.

"What?" Piers smirks at this and Zelos' reaction. Zelos whines and complains, but he's poking through the foodstuffs and, and starts cooking.

"All right, that sounds good. Professor? Is that okay with you?" Lloyd grins at Zelos, then Raine.

"...What? Um, y...yes sure. That's fine." Raine blinks and goes back to thinking.

Piers frowns. "Professor? Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing." Raine says, blinking out of her thoughts again. She pulls out the Tethe'Alla map and half plots a flight pattern.

"..." Piers does not look convinced, but leaves it at that, contenting himself to staring at Daichi as he hovers there. Aurian's looking like she's plotting throwing small pebbles off his head to see if she can get a reaction. Piers glances at her. Aurian blinks once at him, and looks overly innocent. She puts a pebble down. "..." Piers looks back to Daichi.


	46. Into the Earth

March 26th

* * *

_The elf curled into a ball near a corner by the bars, the rest of the cell-dwellers crowded into the opposite side. Daichi is taking a quick nap by the cell. She's staring at her hands, a crazy little smile on her face as she moves her fingers in little patterns. Sparks shoot from her fingers, mostly making her twitch in pain, but then whatever she was doing actually worked, causing the collar to heat up and a lance of lightning to jump from her hands to the sleeping Desian. Daichi yelps, being shocked, jumping from his chair and landing in a heap on the floor. She's seemingly unaware of what she had done, staring at the sparks she was making with childlike fascination. He stands, sparks discharging off his armor and into the ground. _

_"You..." He growls, wincing. Another spark shoots off toward the ceiling. The humans cower in their corner. Daichi flinches, opening the cell. He grabs the elf, slamming her against the wall. The sparks dissipate in her shock of someone interrupting her little world of pretty sparklies. She makes a slight noise as the air in her rushes out._

_"How the hell can you cast?" He snarls. She babbles weakly, almost slurred like speaking was a struggle, about 'not doing it again', 'I'll be good' and variations of 'please don't hurt me'. There were slight burns on her neck from the collar, but it seemed that the bits of magic she'd been doing weren't high enough to be counted as Tier One of Magic, and thus weren't completely blocked. Not that she was aware enough to tell him that. Daichi drops her to the ground, placing a boot on her head. "You'd better not. I don't care how valuable you are. Zap me again, you're dead. Hear me!" She continues her babble. Unfortunately, she's distressed, and distressed mages tend to cause Accidental Magic. She whimpers as the collar heats, but Daichi's boot should also be heating as well... from a little flame starting to eat at it. Daichi yelps, jumping back, stamping his boot to put the fire out. Other Desians are drawn by the captain's noise. She's curled back up in a ball, trembling as more tiny little flames spring up and vanish. Pebbles form and roll about, little puddles show up randomly and sparks move. The humans are definitely hiding now. Daichi leaves the cell, locking it. "I wanna know how she can cast, and I wanna know now!" One of the mages eyes her. _

_"They aren't real spells." the Desian says. "They're not even close to the level of a Fire Ball. None of them are even close to being lethal, so maybe the Black Steel doesn't cause it enough pain to stop the spell, or doesn't block the magic." the Desian mage shrugs._

_"Even if they're not full spells, they fucking hurt! How can we block them?"_

_"If you see one starting, hurt it." one of the other Desians points out. "Pain can stop casting." _

_"Or you could get more Black Steel and put them on it. It's getting burnt as is, more might make it stop." the other Desians don't bother with calling the elf she. _

_"If it burns through the Black Steel..." Daichi mumbles. "Get more. I'll make sure Sparky doesn't cause more damage." The Desian who gets stared at by the others there grumbles, but wanders off as the rest disperse. The elf's not casting things anymore, mostly 'cause she seems to be exhausted. Daichi paces the cell, limping slightly from the burns on his foot. She blinks a little, then moves back to her spot and curls into a ball again near the bars. The Desian comes back with a pair of shackles of black steel. _

_"These should be enough. They might be too loose, so." with them are a pair of nails. "Get someone to heal so it doesn't bleed out if you use them." he hands them over then walks off._

_"...This is an old human technique..." Daichi mumbles, remembering his history. He then shrugs, grabbing a healer Desian to follow him into the cell. The humans hide in the corner. The healer looks at the elf. _

_"If you get them in the old scars, you won't damage anything too important. Someone's already done that to it." the healer shrugs. "Let me know." Daichi manages to grab the elf's wrists, taking the hammer and nail. He pins her arm, places the shackle, aligns the nail, and hits. She screams, trying to thrash free, kicking at him, flailing her other arm at him as blood runs quite freely down her arm, changing directions slightly with the grime and scars under it. The healer flicks a spell at her, healing just enough. The Elf wails as the black steel heats up and burns the wound. She doesn't stop trying to kick Daichi in the balls though. Daichi, used to this ploy, manages to stay away, slipping the shackle on her other wrist, then aligns the nail, and hits it with the hammer. She screams louder, still kicking at him, but her arms just give up. Her hands twitch weakly as she tries to move them. The healer heals her enough not to let her bleed out, but nothing more. "I'm done here." and the healer walks off. Daichi manages to shove the flailing elf away after hitting the ends of the nails so that she couldn't just shove them back out, standing to walk out of the cell. The elf moves suddenly, throwing the chain between her hands out to catch around Daichi's ankle._

_Daichi nearly trips. "Wh-What the fuck."_

_"You bastard.." the elf hisses, even the action tugs on her wrists painfully and causes blood to flow. "You ... damn .. bastard." her hands are gummed all up with blood, but her eyes are clear and very angry. Daichi stares at her eyes for a minute, a slight hint of fear showing for a second before he raises his foot, stamping down on the shackle. "Bastard!" She screams it, trembling with pain. "Half-human bastard!" She was jerking with pain, twitching about a bit._

_Daichi's eyes flare. "What did you just call me?" He grabs the elf, throwing her against the wall, starting to walk towards her, picking her up, slamming against the wall. "What. The FUCK. Did you just call me?"_

_"Half-human!" she screams it into his face, grinningly insanely. "Half-human, half-human, half-human!" Daichi yells in anger. Seems he has a store of it. He throws the elf to the ground and starts kicking the everliving shit out of her. She continues screaming 'half-human' at him when she's got enough air to do so beyond her screeches of pain. Daichi continues to kick and punch at the elf, eventually throwing her at the group of humans. The humans scatter, heading mostly to the corner to Daichi's right, although a few go to the corner to Daichi's left. for some strange reason, even though her face as was bloody and she was in great pain, she was laughing madly. Daichi pants heavily, blood dripping from his hands and splattered over his uniform. He glares at the elf, he takes a step forward, stepping on his glasses that flew off when he tripped. He barely even notices as he walks towards the elf. A young-ish human darts between them, clearly terrified of Daichi, and terrified of something else as well. _

_"Don't kill her! You kill her, they'll kill all us!"_

_Daichi stops, looking down at the human. He growls, lifting the young man up. "You tellin' me what I can and can't do!"_

_"No sir, never sir, just don't want to die sir." the elf was shifting again, slowly._

_"Well, ya goin' the wrong way about it!" The half-elf turns away from the elf for a second, plunging a knife into the human's gut. He chokes, grabbing onto the blade. Daichi drops the human, smirking. "Human filth..." He spits on the writhing, dying corpse. The chain suddenly drops over his head, the elf on his back as she jerks back on the chain. _

_"Half-human, half-human." she sing songs it at him, tauntingly. "If they be filth, what be you?" Daichi gacks, suddenly starting to choke. He starts thrashing, ramming himself into the walls to try and rid himself of the elf. she continues to sing song it directly into his ear. "Half-human, half human, if they be filth what be you? Half filth, half shit, half rat?" it comes out gasping as pain kept her breathing awkward his lunging into walls smashed it out of her, but she kept the chain across his neck despite the fact it was tearing at her wrists. Daichi slowly sinks to his knees, gasping for air. For a second the chain loosens, because she wasn't ready for that, allowing him to breath, but then the elf pulls back on the chain again. Daichi manages to gulp down some air, letting his brain think. He grabs the chain, ducking down, throwing the elf over the top of his head. Again into the humans. The elf screams, her arms bleeding anew, as she hits the mob of humans. Surprisingly, they only scatter enough to let the elf hit the floor. Daichi pants, managing to get his breath back. He stands again. She's laughing again, even as she curls up to press her bleeding arms to her chest. _

_"Please don't kill her!" one of the children says, wailing. Daichi stops, blinking, as though coming to his senses. The rest of the humans babble things like that too, cowering near but not touching the deranged elf. Daichi smirks. _

_"Humans. Only scared because of what might happen to you..." He grunts. "Fine." He turns and leaves, pulling a fresh pair of glasses out of the desk drawer._

* * *

A warm fryingpan to Daichi's face wakes him.

Daichi yelps, jolting awake, holding his face. "Ow..." The frying pan comes down on his head again, scattering scrambled eggs into his hair. Daichi is then dazed blinking confusedly. The thin elf smashes it into his head again. Daichi groans, flopping back onto his bedroll, passed out. Before she can smash it into his head again, Lloyd grapples it from her hands and Colette pulls her back. Zelos and Regal are watching wide eyed while Presea watched with her strange sort of emotionless-ness and Raine checked to make sure that Aurian hadn't damaged Daichi too badly. Piers just...Stares. Shikka seems a bit amazed at the sudden outburst.

"Didn't think I'd see her do that again." Sheena comments. Aurian isn't enraged enough to try clawing at Colette to get free, but she is trying to get her bludgeoning weapon back from Lloyd, who takes it to the other side of camp.

"Oooookaay?" Piers says, watching. Shikka stands, walking over to Aurian. Colette's holding her still, because she's still trying to flail her way over to Daichi to continue abusing him. Raine heals some of the concussion he'd be getting, but not to the point so he'd be without headache. Shikka takes over from Colette, turning lion and lying on Aurian. Aurian flails, grumbling about this, as the three new Tethe'Allans stare. Shikka starts cleaning her hair. Aurian scowls, but being pinned by something four or five times her own weight, so she submits to the hair-cleaning. Shikka continues to distract the elf while Lloyd steals her weapons. Piers hides his staff and Daichi's axe. He also makes sure the Pirate's Blade is hidden. Colette and Genis hide all eating knives, as well as instruct Zelos to hide his sword, or to tie it into his sheath so the elf couldn't get her hands on their weapons, and Presea to figure something of the same to do with her Ax. Aurian's started rubbing at her wrists while getting her hair kitty cleaned. Shikka just purrs, looking happy with himself. Aurian's hair is now sticking out in several different directions. Aurian's almost scratching at her wrists now, looking panicked and angry and pained. Raine lets Daichi revive on his own, and gives the others instructions as to how not to let the elf get her hands on something that could be a weapon.

Daichi eventually starts to come around. "Oooooow... My head..." Aurian growls, and starts trying to flail free. Lloyd looks at her, curious because he wants to know why she's acting like this, but also really doesn't want to at the same time. Daichi then realizes. He looks to Aurian. "You remembered something..." He says, sadly. Aurian snarls at him, before a familiar somewhat mad glint comes to her eyes.

"Half-human, half-human, if humans are filth then what are you!" she tries to struggle free of Shikka, ignoring the shocked look to Genis and Raine's faces.

Daichi blinks, remembering. "Weird...She remembered at the same time I did... And...Oh my goddess...She remembered...THAT..." Aurian growls at him. Lloyd plunks himself down right in her line of vision and she quiets. Daichi sighs. "I guess this frying pan thing is gonna be commonplace..." He mumbles quietly. Shikka still lies atop the elf.

"I'm guessing so too." Lloyd says, while making dinner preparations. Aurian's wiggling a little like she's trying to get free of Shikka.

"What happened this time." Shikka asks. Aurian looks like she's not sure whether she's supposed to scream or burst into tears, and is having trouble picking one. She's still rubbing at her wrists though. Shikka nuzzles gently. Aurian pulls her gloves off. There's a pair of nasty pock-mark scars on both sides of her wrist.

"Piers healed." she mutters. "But he did."

"Daichi...?" Shikka blinks at the pockmarks. Aurian shivers, trying to curl up. Seems she's decided crying is a good idea. Raine comes over and grabs onto one of her wrists.

".. Whatever it was went all of the way through." Raine says, gingerly feeling the scars.

Daichi nods "Yeah. Black steel nails tend to do that..." He says remorsefully. You can almost hear everyone staring at him. "..." Daichi seems to ignore them.

"Shackle-style meant for mages." Aurian mutters, curling her arms to her chest. "Use pain to keep concentration off casting, dark steel to keep casting attempts in pain." Raine frowns.

"To be fair, someone did that to her before. And I blame humans for inventing it."

"I'm guessing they have a history then, Ms Elf and Seaweedhead?" Zelos says, glancing between Aurian and Daichi. "... Must be a kinky one!" Sheena raises a fist. Daichi throws a rock for Zelos' head. Zelos manages only to get clipped by the rock, but gets full force of Sheena's punch, Raine's staff, and Genis's Kendama-ball. He falls backward with a whine.

Daichi growls. "Jerk..." Shikka licks Aurian comfortingly.

"What happened?" He asks again.

"Made magic. Little." Aurian mutters. "And he got mad." Daichi looks away, looking ashamed of himself. He stands, walking away.

"How mad?"

"Murderous." Aurian mutters. "Then shackles." she pauses. "... then I almost got him." that last was said very, very darkly.

"Almost got him?" Shikka asks.

"Shackles come with a chain connecting them." Aurian points out. "And chains are very good for strangling." Daichi rubs his neck as he hears this. "Not as good as piano wire or bow string." the elf mutters.

Lloyd looks a little startled. "..."

Raine whacks her lightly. "No killing him." Aurian gives her the 'why do you think I was planning that' look. Shikka flops. Aurian yelps, flailing. Lloyd's cutting up what he's going to give to Aurian to eat, since she's obviously not trustworthy with sharp objects yet. There are almost a dozen other steaks cooking. Shikka watches Aurian, slowly rolling off her. Aurian is distracted by food, because food is still top priority to the elf. Once she's more or less free, she's nomming. Shikka yawns, watching Daichi. The half-elf shows no sign of wanting to eat. Lloyd gives him food anyway, although it's a serving size like Colette's, which is to say half. Colette's still not eating heavily. Daichi ignores it for now. After Aurian's done, Raine steals her plate, and Noishe sits on her. Strangely, the elf falls asleep. Daichi drags his bedroll away to the far side of camp.

* * *

27th of March

* * *

Daichi starts waking up, yawning. Aurian freezes with a pen right next to his neck. Daichi freezes also, staring up at the elf, wide-eyed. She glares at him, drawing her hands back to stab him with her deadly writing implement, but Lloyd groans, sitting up. The elf's on the other side of camp then. Daichi is still wide-eyed, the pen landing point-first in the dirt. Lloyd rubs at his eyes for a good half a minute, before glancing to make sure Aurian was still over where they'd left her. She was wrapped in her bed roll like some sort of angry house cat plotting someone's demise.

"... Oookay.." Lloyd spots Daichi. "... Eh?" Everyone else starts stirring too.

"P-Pen..." Daichi mumbles. "Pen...In...Neck..."

"Nooo... the pen's in the dirt." Lloyd says confusedly. Daichi glares at Lloyd.

"She tried to kill me!" He snaps, but not accusingly. More like at how stupid Lloyd is. Lloyd blinks.

"... she's over there." Lloyd points. "Unless she's got a really good aim." Lloyd eyes the pen. Daichi face-palms, sitting up, watching Aurian warily. Aurian's still doing her angry house cat impression, which helps because her ears are flat against her head and adding to her angry look. Lloyd watches her too.

"Breakfast." Genis mumbles, getting up and grabbing the bag.

"Hey. What's my pen doing over here?" Zelos picks it up. Daichi grumbles something about kleptomaniac Elves.

* * *

March 28th

* * *

Daichi yelps, waking up to a sharp pain in his wrist. Aurian bites him again. Colette sits up, blinking. Aurian's on the other side of camp again, hiding like a house cat plotting demise.

"Ow!" He rubs his wrist... "What. The Fuck?"

Raine, half-awake, smacks him upside the head. "No swearing."

Colette looks around, confused. "I.. thought I heard someone yelp..."

"Great. So I get chewed on by a psycho elf and knocked upside the head!" Raine frowns at him. the only elf in the party was Aurian.

"... Aurian... was chewing on you." she repeats. Zelos sniggers.

"Shut up, Zelos." Daichi says automatically. "Yes. She was biting my wrist!" He shows the red marks.

Raine looks at them. ".. Does look like bite marks..." Colette starts breakfast.

"That's because they ARE!"

"I think it looks like a rash." Colette offers.

"..." Daichi looks between Colette and the 'rash'. He then mumbles about vampiric elves.

* * *

March 29th

* * *

Dinner time. Aurian hadn't attempted to injure Daichi in some way all day, even during dinner when they let her use a steak knife. Daichi is still distancing himself from the party. The elf curls up inside her bed roll, and slowly the others start the same. Daichi is the last to sleep. Daichi wakes up due to something poking him in the side. Aurian pokes him again with a stick that looks like it had been gathered for the fire.

"Diiiieee."

Daichi blinks awake... "Ow..."

"Diiieee." Aurian pokes him harder with the stick. She sounds like it's her last idea for sneaky attack, and thus is a bit desperate. Daichi shifts about in his sleeping bag, making it confusing. Indeed, it sounds like he's confused her, especially the way that she's poking where his feet are. After another five minutes, the poking stops and she goes back to her bedroll. Daichi smirks.

* * *

March 30th

* * *

Aurian's looking sullen that morning as she waits for nomz on the other side of camp from Daichi. They've been avoiding the use of a frying pan for cooking as that seemed to be her preferred weapon for bludgeoning Daichi. Daichi seems to be following Aurian's example, being on the extreme other side. Genis moves away from the pot to get bowls, and Aurian strikes, knocking it to Daichi, hot food and all. Daichi is knocked out once more! Lloyd grabs her, pulling her away from Daichi and from using the pot to beat his face.

"No." he says firmly, like he was telling Noishe not to chew on his shoes. Piers starts to heal Daichi's burnt pot wound.

"..." Raine frowns at Aurian. "I told you no." Aurian grumbles as Lloyd pulls her back to the other side. Daichi groans, starting to wake. Lloyd gets Noishe to sit on her, which makes the elf grumble more.

"Sorry." Lloyd says to Daichi.

"Sorry for what?" He mumbles, blinking.

"For not believing you when you said she was trying to kill with the pen." Lloyd shrugs.

"Mm..." He mumbles. Raine checks on him. "I don't suppose she's tried anything else." Aurian's trying to shove Noishe off her, but that isn't going to happen soon.

"A stick and she tried to gnaw me."

Zelos shakes his head. "Wow. You must'a pissed her off something nasty." Daichi glares at Zelos.

"How'd you like to have nails shoved through your wrists?" Aurian demands, glaring at the Tethe'Allan Chosen.

"... Touché." Zelos shuts up. Raine and Aurian are having a staring match, the elf's ears flicking angrily. Genis starts making breakfast again.

"I told you she was trying to kill me..." Daichi mumbles.

"Sorry for not believing you." Colette says, looking very apologetic. Daichi merely grunts at this.

* * *

March 31st

* * *

This time, Shikka's sitting on Aurian who gets fed by Raine cause they still don't trust her. Shikka is licking porridge from a bowl. After finishing her breakfast, Presea walks up, and with her eerie-almost angelic-strength, lifts up Shikka's hind paw to look at the pads. Shikka, distracted, turns to look at her. He has the cat look of "Excuse me WTFRUDOIN?" Presea pokes his pawpads, while Aurian wiggles free, and snags her bowl to throw to Daichi's face. Daichi is knocked back by the bowl, dazed.

"Noishe!" Lloyd says. "Sic!" Noishe barks, and jumps on Aurian. The elf looks annoyed.

"Ooooooooow." Raine passes Daichi a cloth to clean up with.

"Aurian..." Raine growls, turning to the elf. "No."

Daichi cleans himself up. "Talking to her like a dog doesn't help. I already tried." Aurian growls low, her ears tilted back and against her head, not helping the animal-like insinuations. Raine frowns at him. Daichi glares at her, obviously pissed off. Raine continues frowning at him, while Noishe attempts to calm Aurian by licking her hair like Shikka had. This means a lot more drool because Noishe is far more canine than feline. Shikka is placing a paw on Presea's face. Presea blinks, and pushes it off to continue poking at the pads. Regal picks Aurian up, and manages to get his arms under hers even though he's still walking around with manacles on, so she's more or less trapped against the blue haired man.

"Th-That tickles." Shikka protests, the large lion squirming.

"...Sorry." Presea says, letting his paw down. Shikka scrubs the paw against the ground to itch it.

"Aurian promises not to throw anything hot at Daichi." Regal announces. The elf looks sullen.

"But that leaves the myriad of things that are cold." Piers points out. "As well as sharp and pointy."

Aurian looks even more sullen as they caught her loophole. "Won't throw any items." she mutters. "Counts rocks, food, weapons." Piers frowns, thinking, but unable to find a loophole.

"... very well." Raine sighs. "If that's ok with Daichi." Colette says.

"She's gonna find something to try and kill me with." Daichi comments.

"This just forces her to be creative." Lloyd muses.

"Did Lloyd just say something helpful!" Piers says, faking shock. Lloyd makes a face at him. Regal nods, and let go of Aurian.

"He does that once in a while." Genis says.

"Indeed. It's still a shock when I hear it." Shikka comments, actually sounding serious.

Lloyd frowns at them all, crossing his arms. "Ha. Ha. Ha." Aurian's sullenly pulling at grass next to where she's sitting. Shikka shakes his fur, getting to his paws and stretching.

Piers walks over, sitting by Aurian. "What did the grass ever do to you?"

"It looked at me funny and insulted my mother." Aurian says blandly.

"..." Piers just watches silently.

"That failed, didn't it." she uproots a small chunk then begins playing with it, knocking the dirt loose.

"Kinda."

"Time to go." Raine gets out the WingPacks with their Rheairds. Piers goes over to get his Rheaird.

* * *

April 1st

* * *

Daichi jolts awake, looking around before relaxing slightly. Aurian's on the other side of camp still, looking at her hands with a mildly startled expression on her face, like she was just now noticing them. Lloyd's stirring sluggishly. Daichi relaxes slightly. It looks like he's still depressed. The rest of camp wakes, and Raine looks very pleased that Aurian wasn't glaring at Daichi, nor did Daichi seem to have been attacked by said elf before anyone else woke. Aurian herself keeps staring at her hands. Daichi rubs his neck, sighing and walking off to the lake they camped by. It's barely more than a deep pond, being that they're near the mountains for the Temple of Earth. Genis follows him with the tea pot and all of their canteens. Daichi barely glances at him, lost in thought.

Genis starts rinsing and refilling the canteens. "I'm surprised you're not in a better mood now that she's in a better mood."

"...Try being chirpy when you're faced with someone you tortured for 5 years."

"Ah." Genis says. "I thought ranches kept people for 15 years. Unless _he_ was lying about that." with the bitterness in the _he_, it was a bit clear who the little mage was talking about.

"Well. It was 13, but I got reassigned after five. Lord Forcystus thought I would kill her eventually..."

Genis winces. "And I thought I heard her say that you didn't beat on her too badly." he rinses and fills the tea pot. "Then again, given last weeks reaction... maybe she just didn't remember."

"I only beat her to near-death if she pissed me off too much. It took a lot to do that. I mainly hated humans, not elves."

"Where as other Desians would for very little, more often?" Genis guesses. "Remembering more attacks against worse, but rarer attacks?"

"Yep..."

"Ah." Genis says. "You know, she's probably just taking it out on you because there aren't any other Desians to take it out on nearby."

"...Joy. I'm a walking therapeutic tool."

Genis smirks. "Notice she hasn't actually casted anything on you. Some part of her probably doesn't want you dead. Otherwise, you'd probably be crispy."

"Most likely..." He sighs.

"And, she's not glaring at you this morning. Maybe she's over it." Genis points out.

"...I highly doubt it." Daichi mutters, pessimistic.

"C'mon, Regal should be done with breakfast by now." Genis points out, gathering up the canteens and the tea pot. Daichi nods, following. Regal has indeed made breakfast, and it seems that the criminal is a very good cook. Aurian's still off in her own little world.

Daichi sighs. "I think the only reason she isn't assaulting me is because she's currently delusional." Aurian's ears flick, but she doesn't react to Daichi's comment.

"But she's still not assaulting you." Genis points out. "Which is good." Regal begins serving up breakfast.

"Not assaulting him YET." Piers points out.

"Thanks..."

"Maybe her creativity ran out?" Lloyd asks around a fork.

"This... is good." Presea comments, although there isn't much cheer to the way she says it.

"Yes. It is." Shikka and Piers agree. Aurian eats the way she usually does, which is to say "YAY FOOD NOM!", while Raine watches to make sure she doesn't try anything, and Colette delicately nomz her way through. Daichi has a bit, but still doesn't feel like eating. He sneaks a couple of his old "painkillers".

Out of the blue, in the middle of clean up, Aurian announces, "25."

"... Huh?" Lloyd blinks.

"...25?" Piers asks, blinking, also.

"I'm 25." Aurian says, tilting her head like she's thinking.

"Aurian, we already worked this out. You're over 120, old enough then to not have visibly aged since." Raine says, frowning at her.

"Whatever it is." Aurian shrugs. "I'm 25 at the end."

"So...It's your birthday?"

"I think so." she shrugs again, looking at her hands again.

"Well... Happy birthday!" Lloyd grins.

"But..." Colette looks depressed. "I don't have anything.." Aurian looks confused.

Lloyd gets that look of brilliant thought that tends to end up being somewhat disastrous. "I know!"

"We are NOT singing, Lloyd." Piers says.

"Yes we are!" Lloyd says, grinning. "Then, when we get back to town, we can get presents!"

Aurian looks really, really lost now, and expresses it. "I'm confused."

Piers dumps water on Lloyd. "No. We're not."

"Yes, we are!" Lloyd jumps up and chases Piers. Regal looks thoughtful, while Presea blankly watches them run about.

"Please?" Colette asks Piers.

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssss! Fine! Stop chasing me with your sword!" Lloyd puts his sword away, and grabs onto Piers.

"C'mon, c'mon." Aurian still looks very lost. Piers is dragged. Colette grabs Daichi's hand while Genis gets Shikka, and they from a little mob, all with varying looks of enthusiasm. Piers' enthusiasm is non-existent, Shikka looks as placid as ever and Daichi is trying to look happy.

"... I still really don't get what's going on." Aurian points out, but Lloyd's started their little rendition of Happy Birthday. It seems everyone but the Iselian trio have different ideas of how to sing it. Piers is singing it the classic way, Shikka is humming it and Daichi is just trying and failing. Zelos is shoving it full of flirtatious tone, Regal is singing it with a different set of words, Presea is monotone, Raine's horribly out of tune, Sheena's on a different rhythm, and Lloyd, Colette and Genis manage to sound like they know what they're doing. Aurian looks very confused, her ears twitching as she tries to sort out the words.

"Am I the only one singing it correctly?" Piers points out.

"Most likely." Daichi comments.

"... What?" Aurian looks confused. "... what's a 'channel four'?" Sheena glares at Zelos.

"Probably a dirty magazine." Piers nods and dodges a whack from Raine.

"...I still don't get it." Zelos looks like he's about to take this chance to hit on the elf, as well as explain several facets of society that she's obviously ignorant in, but Sheena hits him, and he decides against it.

"We celebrate Birthdays..." Shikka explains.

"And since it's yours, we'll celebrate it!" Piers chimes in. "But no more singing."

"That's ok." Aurian says, blinking. "I don't think my ears would like more." Regal politely asks about the sorts of things Aurian likes. The list comes up as 'sparkly things, Mana-replenishing-things, sparkly things, chocolate, sparkly things, peanut butter, sparkly things, caramel-candies, and sparkly things'.

"Right! That narrows it down!" Piers says, an idea forming of what he's gonna get. Regal also looks thoughtful.

"We should get going. We can reach Temple of Earth today." Raine says, folding up the map.

* * *

April 3rd

* * *

After spending an entire day and a half underground in Gnome's temple, the party's discovered that Aurian is mildly claustrophobic, again. As in, she really doesn't like being underground, in a cave/tunnel/mine. Piers also doesn't seem to like being below sea-level without being in the sea. The sorcerer's ring had gained the power of Earthquakes, which didn't help the elf in any way. Every time Lloyd used it, she jumped and held onto the nearest steady person. She had actually clung onto Daichi a few times before remembering that she was pissed off by him and clinging to Shikka or Regal. Zelos always looks a little disappointed after she clings to others. Regal appears to be a bit confused when the elf grabs onto him and hides her face.

"Is this an elf thing? Not liking underground?"

"I dunno. I don't like underground." Piers says, shivering.

"Maybe. Dwarves don't like living out in the open." Lloyd points out. "Dad's got his bedroom in the basement. Maybe elves are the opposite?"

"She's also a wind mage." Genis points out. "Wind is opposite in alignment to earth."

"And what about Piers?" Daichi points at the boy.

"I just don't like being below sea-level without being in said sea."

"Makes sense...Kinda." Aurian detaches herself from Shikka and continues walking, kicking at loose stones with mutters.

"Let's just get to Gnome." Sheena says. "Every time you use that Ring, I keep thinking you're going to bring this place down on us."

"Ah.. right." Lloyd continues walking. They reach a rickety bridge, over a gap in the path below where they couldn't pass because there wasn't a rickety bridge part over it. "..." Lloyd holds on as he looks over. ".. If we break this, it'll be right where we need it..." Piers looks at the Sorcerer's Ring and then waits for the cogs in Lloyd's brain to turn. It takes a couple of seconds, but then Lloyd grins, and gets everyone on the bridge. "Ready!"

"What?" Sheena yelps, as he activates the ring, and they drop a good twenty feet.

"Ahhh!" Aurian's again clinging to Shikka. Shikka shivers lightly.

Daichi clonks Lloyd over the head. "Never. Do. That. Again."

Lloyd yelps, covering his head. "Can't, the bridge is already down here!" Lloyd dodges the wrath of Raine as well. Aurian has yet to let go of Shikka. Shikka just hugs her. They head further into the area, which is a large platform like place with the dormant altar in the center. Aurian lets go of Shikka once they're away from the bridge, but grabs onto Regal because the ground starts shaking again, Stalagmite-spell-effects popping in random locations about the room.

"I-Is this normal?" Piers asks, flinching slightly.

"Dunno." Lloyd keeps his balance. A giant cartoon like mole, with a shovel and a massive red ribbon, pops out of the ground and hovers above the altar. "So this is Gnome!" Lloyd says, looking at it.

"Since Volt is Undine's opposite, Gnome's is-" Genis is cut off by Lloyd.

"Efreet! If we wake up Efreet, that'll sever their Mana flow, right?"

".. No, it's Sylph!" Raine sighs. ".. honestly, how many times do I have to tell you before you actually remember it?"

"I see that the level of education in Sylvarant matches the status of the world." Regal comments, trying not to look uncomfortable with the elf clinging to him. There's a pause, as Lloyd tries to translate that.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that!" Lloyd says cheerfully.

Piers face-palms. "That's not a compliment." Lloyd blinks, frowning, but before he can say anything, Sheena shakes her head.

"All right, here we go!" she walks up to the Summon.

"Hmmm.. So, you're a summoner, huh?" Gnome's got a strange nasal-higher pitched voice that seems to indicate it's male. "Well, look, sorry, but I've already got a pact with Mithos, 'k?"

"There's Mithos's name again." Colette says. "He must have been amazing!"

"I am Sheena!" Sheena says. "I seek a pact with Gnome. I ask that thou annulst thy pact with Mithos, and establish a new pact with me."

"Man, you use some stuffy language. Bleh." Gnome complains.

"Uh, well..." Sheena blinks. "I mean, this is how I was taught to do it."

"Don't let him get to you!" Piers calls.

"Really?" Gnome asks. "Oh yeah well, whatever. All right, show me whatcha got." It hops to the ground. "Bring it on! Come on! Heh!" Sheena quickly back flips away from the summon as weapons are readied across the party. Daichi draws his Axe, Piers his sword and Shikka shifts into Lion form. Regal gently gets Aurian to let him go before charging in to kick ass, literally, while Presea readies her axe, and Genis starts casting. Lloyd lunges in with _Sword Rain_, while Sheena starts slapping Seals onto the Summon, and Zelos ... starts mouthing it off.

"_Diamond Dust_!" Piers yells out, starting to drop icicles on Gnome. Daichi runs in.

"_Converging Fury_!" Shikka seems to glow for a second before diving in, activating his Rend scroll.

"_Air Thrust_!" Genis shouts, casting.

"Gentle winds, gather before me and transform into blades of air!" Aurian's casting as well.

"_Ground Dasher_!" Gnome draws out the 'rou' in ground as he slams his shovel into the ground. A large area begins to tremble, and the close range fighters scatter to avoid getting caught by the spell.

"Oh, violent torrent..." Daichi mumbles the rest. "_Aqua Edge_!"

"_Cyclone_!" the large natural disaster picks up the Summon and throws it about.

"Hehehhe!" Gnome cackles upon landing, and flips over. the bow on the back of its head bites into the ground, and sends it speeding for the elf, who was already starting to cast another spell and oblivious. Daichi quickly darts in, shoving Aurian out of the way, but placing himself in the path. Gnome slams into him, Ribbon of Doom first. Aurian's knocked over, but still manages to hold onto the spell.

"Shit!" Lloyd lunges in with _Sonic Thrust_, Zelos joining him with _Lightning Blade_, which he vocally announced was not the best idea he's had, while Presea performs _Devastation_, Regal _Swallow Dance_, and Raine gets healing spells ready. Piers starts casting a prolonged _Wish Well_ immediately. Daichi is knocked into a wall, slumping down. Raine casts _Nurse_ as Gnome turns on the rest of the party, while Genis and Aurian combine _Air Thrust_ and _Cyclone_ into a larger Wind spell that they shout as _'Tempest'_, the _Cyclone_ splitting into four with Gnome in the middle. Shikka glows again, mauling at Gnome. Gnome bounces to another area after the wind spell lets him go, shoveling dirt at them. Aurian pulls Daichi closer to Raine with a bit of a frantic look. Piers moves closer, still using the healing aura, healing other people's injuries also.

He soon switches to _Pure Ply_, starting to concentrate on Daichi. "He's hit pretty bad..."

"Aurian, you heal him too." Raine says, quickly using _Cure_.

"Eh?" The elf blinks.

"I know you can heal. Genis can use his wind spells on Gnome." Raine says.

"R..right." Aurian starts healing. Compared to Raine's healing, Aurian's looks like it hurts.

Piers and Raine manage to patch up the external wounds. "Well. At least he won't externally bleed to death..." Raine checks on Daichi with a Diagnostic spell.

"... Aurian seems to be helping with internal... I think it's a good thing he's unconscious." Raine mutters. "That... seems like it would hurt." It seems that healing isn't something Aurian's very good at by the amount of effort it looks like it takes. Daichi does seem to be wincing in his catatonic state. "That's enough Aurian." Raine says, stopping the thin elf from continuing. "Concentrate on Gnome. We can take care of healing." Aurian blinks, but nods, heading over to Gnome with her glaive. It doesn't take too much more for the giant mole to fall. Piers zaps any more external wounds with a hint of _ply_, starting to get a little woozy.

Gnome tumbles back, before jumping up to hover above the Altar again. "You guys fight dirty, you know that? I mean, what's up with that 12-on-1 garbage?" Gnome bobs. "Mithos... well, he did it by himself!"

"Well, you managed to nearly kill one of us, at least!" Piers yells at the mole. Lloyd blinks.

"Oh yeah? well, whatever. Make your vow already!" Gnome says.

"Augh!" Sheena is irritated with Gnome. "This guy is hard to deal with." she heads back to the altar. "For the sake of creating a place in which the two worlds no longer must sacrifice one another, gimme your power!"

Piers zaps a cut forming on Daichi's cheek. "Smooth."

"Hmmmm.. Well, All right." Gnome bounces. "I'll go ahead and lend my power to you guys." Gnome vanishes and a ring drops. Sheena snags it from mid air, and inspects it.

"You know, I've been thinking." Zelos actually looks and sounds serious for once as he dusts himself off. "If the worlds are separated from each other, we're not going to be able to see each other again, are we?"

"Probably not..." Shikka mumbles, looking slightly sad.

"Why not?" Lloyd looks confused. "We can just go back and forth with the Rheairds."

"Right now, we can move in between the worlds because they're connected by the flow of Mana. But if the worlds are split apart, we don't know what will happen."

"So the instant the flow of Mana is severed, the two worlds may part ways forever." Regal says musingly.

"Will that mean when we form a pact with the final Summon Spirit, we'll all have to say goodbye?" Colette asks, looking sad at the thought.

"..." Lloyd scrubs at his head. "We don't know if that's really the case, so there's no point in worrying about it right now."

"Wait." Piers seems to remember something. "If the worlds get severed...And we're on Tethe'Alla...When they separate...Wouldn't we stay on Tethe'Alla?" the party stares at him.

"... There might be time to catch the tail end, and manage to make it back." Aurian points out. "If it's even the case."

"... How about we worry about it when we've got one summon left." Lloyd says, frowning. "We've got five left."


	47. To The North

Warning. This fic is starting to earn it's M rating.

Complain if you want, I've seen worse with less warning on this site.

* * *

April 8th

* * *

_The humans who shared the cell with the elf were leaving her even more space after the incident involving the cuffs and the chain about Daichi's neck, which was probably good because the elf was in a permanently sour mood. And the door slams open, Daichi stumbling in, drunk. He glares in at the cell, making most of the humans shrink away in fear._

_"The drunkard halfbreed marvel." the elf drawls, still curled up on the floor. The humans flinch. _

_"What wassat?" He growls, his green eyes locking on the elf unfocusedly._

_"The half breed. Best of both, like all the Desians preach, and look at what you do..." There's a broken sort of sadism to her words. The humans are crowded as far into their corner as possible._

_Daichi growls lowly. "Watch yer tongue, elf."_

_"Oh? Why? What'll happen if I don't? Come up with something to top this, have you?" The real reason she's not sitting up might be because of her blood streaked arms, which she jerks in his direction as a 'lookit what you did, I don't think you can do worse' act. Daichi doesn't answer. Instead, he advances on the cell, pulling the keys from his belt. After a very comical few minutes of trying to open the door, he growls in rage, punching the lock. It snaps open. The humans cringe back, all crowded uncomfortably into a corner. The elf blandly watches, a sort of sneer on her face. It's not very well used. "Oh, finesse isn't good for you. Brute force all the way. Always." _

_Daichi grabs the elf by the collar. "I'll show you brute fucking force!" He growls lowly._

_"I've been through Kvar's ranch." The elf shoots back. "Twice. So sorry if I'm not impressed."_

_Daichi rams her into the corner. "Who says ya have to be impressed?" She grunts, blinking dazedly. He has one hand on her throat, the other one messing with his belt clumsily. He's smirking weirdly. She returns to the world of the 'I can see things without spinning' slowly, and tries to shove him off with her feet. Daichi slams her back into the wall, standing on her feet. She tries to whack him in the face with her shackles, displeased. Daichi manages to get his belt off, lowering his pants, smirking. The attacks seem futile. He leans in, whispering. _

_"Been wantin' to do this for ages." A few humans whimper. They know what's coming. She freezes, and all that calm sadistic sarcasm goes out the window as his plan clicks. _

_"Let me go!" It's panic now, and she's trying to whack him with her chain again. Daichi's the one with the sadistic grin. He lowers the elf a little bit by shoving down on her shoulders. "Let me go!" It's closer to a wail now, and she's trying not to fall from him pushing on her. Daichi grabs her, pulling her against him, his other hand working around her waist. "Let me go!" She's still trying to flail her way out of his, her voice cracking with the use of screaming words too much. Daichi clonks her head against his armored chest. _

_"Stop bein' redundant." He growls, managing to tug her pants down. She nearly crumples, dazed. Daichi smirks, positioning himself correctly and thrusting up. The elf just freezes, her eyes wide in something that would be best described as complete terror. A thin wail makes it out of her mouth. Daichi claps a hand over her mouth as he pulls back, thrusting up again. The humans look horrified. Especially the children. His hand does nothing to prevent the scream. Some of the responsible humans cover the eyes and ears of the children. _

_"SHUT UP!" Daichi yells, threatening to bang her head off the wall again. The elf's a wailing trembling mess now, and thus doesn't shut up. Her next scream isn't as loud, though. Daichi seems to shrug in a 'Whatever' motion, continuing on his act of violation. The pitch of her screams goes back up again, although they start breaking and cracking as her throat doesn't handle the strain very well. Daichi is grunting with each thrust up, on hand against the wall, the other against the elf. She's still trying to free herself, even if it's a bit hard with his arm holding her there. She's crying now too._

_"Nn...Keep squirmin' elf..." He moans in her ear. And so she freezes. She wails again, her fingers twitching uselessly. Daichi's breathing and grunting gets quicker. He actually starts pulling the elf as well as thrusting. And then she stops screaming, wailing, any sort of noise. Her head flops limp against his shoulder and the only sound from her is faint breathing. Daichi makes a pained grunt as he comes, flopping against the wall and the elf, panting. The elf is saved from being crushed by the corner. She doesn't react, her head flopping to a new angle with the shift. Her eyes are vacant, although terror still is about her expression. Daichi eventually stops panting, letting the elf drop to the ground. He starts to pull his pants back up. She slumps over, then seems to come back to reality, curling into as tight a ball as possible, shaking. He leaves the cell, closing the door. _

_He looks as the lock doesn't click. "Ah." The humans simply stare, horrified, either at the elf, or Daichi, and make no move to budge. Daichi pulls out a magnetic clamp that locks the door in cases just like this, the humans cower at the thunk. After a moment, one of the humans goes over and holds the elf carefully, because she starts whimpering and cringing away as the human got closer. The human carefully fixes her up a little. Daichi glances in. There is a twinge of guilt in the man's eyes. But he still looks happy with himself. Her trembling doesn't get any better with the human hugging her, so after a few minutes the human leaves her in the corner. Her trembling goes down, but don't go away completely. It looks like he managed to break her mind a bit more._

* * *

Cut to reality. Daichi and Aurian are lying under a tree asleep. Colette seems to find it rather cute, because Aurian's curled into a ball and Daichi's sort of sprawled out with Aurian not-quite on an arm in a half-hug from Daichi, facing away from him. Raine looks like she's expecting something bad to happen, and Lloyd's happily making breakfast, a mug of coffee in his other hand. Daichi yawns, rubbing his eyes. He looks to his right. Aurian is doing the same, but looking to the left. They both blink. Then Aurian makes a noise half wail and half scream and hurries away from him, ducking toward Shikka, until her panicked gaze fixes on him for a moment and she swerves to behind the next closest - who happens to be Zelos. She puts him between Daichi and her, curling into a ball.

"Uh... Not complainin' at all, but what's up with Ms Elf?" Zelos asks, blinking as he fixes his hair. Daichi does the same, but cowers behind the tree.

Piers looks up from his book. "Uh-oh..." Raine sighs, as Aurian covers her head with her hands, trembling.

"And this time?" she closes the monster book.

Daichi's banging his head against the tree. "Idiot...Idiot...Idiot..." Raine watches him for a moment.

"Daichi, if you know something that can help us calm Aurian down, we would like to know it. I don't think we should let her get distraught enough to inadvertently use magic." Regal comments, as he fingers what he can of his hair and ties a little tail at the back.

"...I...I..." He takes a deep breath. "It wasn't just the imprisonment, or the torture...Or the nails through the wrists..." He takes a shuddering breath. "Ikindarapedherwhiledrunk." Aurian wails a little. Zelos' eyebrows go up, while Raine frowns a bit, Colette looks blank while Sheena's a little pale and Genis and Presea sort of blink.

"... huh?" Lloyd blinks.

"Lloyd, this is something you're better off not asking about." Regal says.

"... ookay..."

"I'm gonna go throw myself off a cliff now." He stands, turning away.

Lloyd quickly hands over the breakfast makings to Genis. "Wait, no, that's a little extreme."

"...Is it? I've killed more people than you can think of. And you don't even know what we're talking about."

"Yeah, well..." Lloyd frowns, but he still grabs onto Daichi and resolutely starts pulling him back to camp. "Uhh... just well."

Daichi digs his heels in, resisting successfully. "Just let me go, Lloyd..."

"Not gunna happen!" Lloyd grunts, pulling harder. He manages to budge Daichi back an inch or so.

"...Then let me be by myself..." Daichi looks as though he's crying silently, although his face is turned away from Lloyd. "...Please."

Piers is beside Genis. "When did Lloyd get strong enough to move Daichi in mule-mode.?"

"... Dunno." Genis blinks.

"Then take Noishe with you." Lloyd says, not letting go.

"Noishe counts as someone. Someone means not alone." Daichi growls, tensing up.

"Then Noishe will stalk you." Lloyd says. "That way, he's not with, but he's still making sure you don't do something stupid. Like jump off a cliff."

"Not like that would kill me anyway." He comments darkly, wrenching his arm. "Fine. Whatever." Lloyd manages to keep on.

"Okay. Would two hours be enough?" He's half talking to Raine and Daichi.

Raine blinks. "Perhaps." She's talking about getting Aurian calm enough to walk with them.

"I don't care..." The half-elf mutters.

"Noishe will let you know when we're ready to go." Lloyd says, and lets go of Daichi's arm. Noishe whines and sits next to Lloyd. Daichi pulls free, walking off and climbing up a tree not too far away. Noishe sits at a moderate distance between the two, in a spot where Daichi'd have to move a bit more to see him. Raine's trying to calm Aurian down, who is still curled into a ball and shaking. Something drops from the tree. A small ornamental object. It's the half-elf's Key Crest. Lloyd picks it up, and sits under the tree.

Daichi has his hand on his neck. "I thought you said you'd leave me alone."

"Did I?" Lloyd asks, looking at the crest. "If I did, then I lied."

"You're a meddling little fucker, you know that?"

"Uhhh... I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that word after 'little', and agree."

There's silence from the tree for a few moments, then. "I'm a monster..."

"I'm pretty sure there are people who would say the same of me. Quite a few who would say the same of the Sage's, just because they're half elves." Lloyd traces the runes on the key crest.

He chuckles darkly. "Even among those...I'm a different class."

"... okay." Lloyd says, shrugging. "I'll agree that you're not a... hawk, more of a ... night raid."

"...Nice analogy." He leans against the tree. "Remember back in Asgard? Hallowe'en?" He looks down. "You asked me what rape was back then, too." He sighs.

"... cause you said it." Lloyd's expression turns a little sour. "... then Kratos shoved me."

"...It's an evil thing. Something that a man normally does to a woman. And it's..." he stops, seeming to be holding back more crying.

"If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to." Lloyd says, scratching his back with the tree. "Of course, Professor Sage says that talking about things that hurt makes them better, so she'd say if you don't want to talk about it, you probably should."

"I'm sure Raine'd make an exception in this case..."

"Well, I'm not Raine, so it's your choice." Lloyd managed to scratch the itch he wanted too, and stops.

"...I don't even know where to begin." He states, reaching back to his unprotected Exsphere once more.

"By putting your crest back on?" Lloyd offers. "I mean, I know now that you're not in as much danger because you had a crest and all, but still... I don't want to fight Exbelua."

"...Monsters should be exposed as monsters..." He mumbles.

"Do you want to kill us?" Lloyd asks, frowning up.

"I'm as far away enough. I'd maybe kill you if you stayed around."

"So that's the reason you want to be alone?" Lloyd frowns up at him. "So you don't kill us in your attempt at suicide?"

"..." Daichi doesn't respond.

"You know that you might just wander in the unfortunately right direction, right?" Lloyd scratches his head. "And you do know that turning into an Exbelua doesn't mean you die. Clara's still alive, and who knows how long she's been one."

"...Fine. But it was all I could think of."

"Then how about 'don't commit suicide'?" Lloyd says.

"...What about Aurian?" He says. "She's gonna kill me anyway."

"That's not suicide." Lloyd says, before he tilts his head. "Well, it might be if you just stand there. A little indirect, but..." He frowns. "Not the point. Yeah, I know she's gunna be... pissed beyond all reason when she stops being terrified, but...You're the only one we've actually seen her get angry at, y'know? And then, it's only in bursts."

"There is a very good reason for that."

"'cause you're here." Lloyd shrugs. "Daichi, she's been in the ranch system for... some hundred twenty years, according to Kvar. D'ya think there are others she would probably do the same to, but we kinda blew them up while she was still in the 'scared' phase?"

"It doesn't change what I did." Daichi says deftly.

"Uh, yeah, not saying it did. Just sayin' that she might have gotten it out on someone else if we didn't, you know, blow 'em up."

"Or both." Daichi points out.

"..." Lloyd blinks at him. "You mean, she might take it out on them, then, but later, you?" Lloyd scratches the side of his nose. "... maybe. Dunno."

"Look. All of this is because of me. Saying 'what if' doesn't change the present." Lloyd throws a very smelly sock right at Daichi's face. Daichi splutters before shoving it back in Lloyd's face, aiming to get it in the twinblade's mouth. Lloyd's already backed up out of reach. If Daichi wants to get the sock on him, he's going to have to get out of the tree. But Daichi seems to lose all will and pitches the sock into a nearby stream.

"Aw, man, lame!" Lloyd looks like he's debating jumping into said stream to retrieve smelly sock. Daichi sighs, mumbling to himself as he gently fingers his Exsphere. Lloyd blinks at him. "Want this?" He waves the Key Crest at him. Daichi sighs, reaching for the crest. Lloyd remains just out of reach from Daichi's perch in the tree.

"..." Daichi just leaves his hand outstretched. Lloyd puts the other stinky sock in it. And Daichi pitches it into the stream.

Lloyd watches it, then grins. "Well, guess Zelos needs new socks then." Daichi seems to be hiding a smirk with some difficulty. "Wonder if he's noticed that I'm wearing his." Lloyd continues, watching the socks flow away.

"Probably. You know what Zelos is like."

"Hm." Lloyd tilts his head, watching Daichi. "I win!" He decides, grinning widely.

"...What?"

"I won." Lloyd repeats, beaming at him. Daichi realizes what the twinblade was going on about and just grunts. Lloyd throws a ball of leaves off Daichi's head. Well, that would be inaccurate, as the crumbling leaves sort of 'splode about him.

"Whatever." Daichi drops down from the tree, seeming to give up.

"You're no fun." Lloyd makes a very mature face at him.

"Continue to make that face and I'll break it so it stays that way."

Lloyd grins, making it again. "You'd have to catch me first."

"You seem to forget what I did for the past 50 or so years."

"You were Forcystus' torturer. You're a bit of a water mage, and you can heal a tiny bit." Lloyd says, before thumbing up his nose again. He's bouncing on his heels a bit.

"I was also the one who chased humans down to butcher them." That's the good thing about Daichi. He doesn't mess with words.

"There was room to chase them in the cells?" Lloyd asks, making a bit of a thoughtful face.

"No. When we raided."

"And I'm sure that the ones who fled while you were raiding were the ones who were fighters..." Lloyd says, as if he was pretty sure they weren't.

"Of course they weren't. Women, children and old people mainly. Made them easier to catch, but some were fast."

Lloyd's eyebrow twitches. "And I'm saying, if I can pace Noishe, it doesn't matter if you've been chasing people for most of your life when you weren't sitting on your ass."

"I win." Daichi says. Lloyd thumbs his nose up and goes cross-eyed at Daichi. And Daichi snatches for his key crest back. and Lloyd hops a foot or so backwards. "So. I take it you want me to Exbelua, eh?"

"If you were going to turn into an Exbelua, you would have, whether I liked it or not, back when I showed up." Lloyd points out.

"But the more time I have my key crest off, the more time it can accidentally happen. It's on the back of my neck, after all."

"And the back of a neck is so much more at risk than the back of a hand?" Lloyd asks. "Those Desian collars don't go height enough to rub at it, they're a bit stiff and out back there."

"If you don't want to give it back, fine by me." Daichi spins on his heel, starting to walk down the stream.

"Watcha'doin'?" Lloyd follows him at the same distance he's been, just out of reach.

"Walkin'."

"To where?"

"Somewhere."

"Over the rainbow?"

"What rainbow?"

"That one." Lloyd points somewhere where Daichi'd have to turn his back to him to see well.

"There is no rain. Therefore no rainbow." Daichi doesn't bother turning. "and if I was going over the rainbow, I'd be heading in that direction."

Lloyd makes a face at him. "Maybe it's a ninja rainbow."

"Your stupidity astounds me." Daichi comments.

"Yes, well, there can be ninja trees, so there can be ninja rainbows."

"..." Daichi doesn't respond. Lloyd suddenly gives him a blinding grin. A blur of green and white knocks him into the stream. Daichi yelps, quickly holding a hand to the back of his neck to make sure his Exsphere was safe.

"Good one, Noishe!" Lloyd cheers, while Noishe howls. Daichi manages to cast _Aqua Edge_ at Lloyd in the meantime, standing up and glassesflashing. Lloyd cackles, avoiding the slight-targeting ability of the three disks of water by booking it up stream. And Daichi continues walking. Lloyd returns, fiddling with something he's holding close to his pocket. All of the sudden, a spray of water hits Daichi's head.

"..." Daichi stops for a moment, but continues walking. Then another one. Daichi stops for longer this time. "I'm not chasing you, Lloyd." His response is two more water sprays, in rapid succession. "..." Daichi sighs and climbs up another tree. Lloyd frowns at him, before swapping the Sorcerer's ring out for another one,. A minor earthquake.

"Lloyd, I swear to the goddess. Keep pestering me and I will kill myself."

Lloyd's eyes narrow. "You do that, and I'll tell Aurian that you offed yourself cause you felt bad." All his bouncy cheery-ness has drained into that hard focus that comes over him when he's fighting. "And with her being as unstable as she is, I doubt it'll help anything." He crosses his arms.

Daichi grunts. "I don't need more guilt. And you would be lying if you told her that, because I would have offed myself to get away from you." He quips back.

"Right now." Lloyd points out. "A bit ago, you were gunna off yourself 'cause you felt bad. It's not lying, just omitting which time you were thinking about it."

"So, selective lying." Daichi states. "Because you're still lying about the true reason I killed myself."

"If I said that I'd shown up following you, and you were dead, that would be lying." Lloyd's fingering the loop with the Sorcerer's Rings on it. "If I said I showed up, talked with you, and you offed yourself, it wouldn't be. If they ask after why, and I say Guilt, it's not lying, because that was your original intention, wasn't it?"

"Intentions change."

"No fucking shit." Lloyd retorts.

"You're an annoying little runt."

"If I'm a runt, and there are five people shorter than me, what does that make them?"

"I was talking personality-wise."

"Then you're the runt." Lloyd nods. "Because all you are is depression and rage."

"I wasn't denying that."

Lloyd eyes him. He takes a breath, then eyes him again. "Fine." Lloyd throws the key crest, hard enough it sticks a little into the bark. "Go off yourself. Your life. If you want to waste it due to feeling guilty over something, go for it. Evidently, you don't care that you've made friends." Lloyd turns to go walk off.

"...Fuck..." He mutters, removing the key crest from the bark. "...I hate it when this happens." He sticks the key crest over his Exsphere. Lloyd pretends not to be paying attention, hands in his pockets as he walks off. Although, it's a rather slow walk. Daichi drops from the tree. "You know, you're a real guilt tripper, Lloyd Irving." He calls after the twinblade.

"About time it worked." Lloyd grumbles under his breath.

"I heard that."

"Maybe you were meant to." Lloyd retorts.

"Whatever." Daichi mutters, walking back towards the camp slowly. Lloyd gains a bright grin steadily. As Daichi walks past Lloyd, the half-elf grabs the human by the collar, lifting him bodily from the ground.

"And if you EVER annoy me like that again, Lloyd Irving, I don't care how fast you are, I swear to the goddess herself that I will hunt you down and shank you." He snarls. Zelos walks by with his load of dishes to be cleaned, and winks.

"I'll make sure to steal everyone's Rheairds first." Lloyd grins.

"You gotta get old at some point." Daichi grunts, dropping Lloyd.

"Probably after you do." Lloyd points out with a grin.

"In another 300 years, maybe." Daichi points out with a smirk. Lloyd sticks his tongue out and darts back to camp. Noishe follows complacently. And Daichi takes his time, sitting on the extreme edge of camp away from Aurian.

"It would probably be best to fly in two groups." Raine sighs. Aurian's wrapped up in a bedroll and in what looks like the exhausted-sleep from when your emotions go too high.

Piers nods. "Good idea." Shikka is laid next to Aurian semi-protectively. Colette's sitting right next to Aurian.

"She's..." Raine rubs her eyebrows. "Been very uncomfortable around any of the males. Something in Zelos' appearance had set her to confusion, because when he tried helping, she got worse again. It might be best to split up that way." Raine gives Daichi and Lloyd a rough run down.

"She's fine with me when I'm in form and don't speak." Shikka points out. "But I can't fly a Rheaird as a lion."

"And the first few moments after she saw him shift." Sheena offers.

"She made the connection then, so it would be better for the males to head off first, so Shikka can have time to shift before the rest of us follow." Raine finishes.

"Good point." Daichi mumbles. Lloyd looks like he would protest, but he frowns a little and shrugs.

"And nothing ever flies as high as we do on the Rheairds, so it doesn't matter that we split up..." Lloyd mutters.

"I know Zelos knows where Flanoir is, but just for the rest of you." Raine spreads the map, and points toward the sea and islands that they were heading to, then in the real-world direction. Shikka stretches out slightly, yawning, trying not to disturb Aurian.

So the male-over-half of the party gets Rheaird's out and ready to head in that direction.

* * *

April 9th

* * *

Flanoir is built to withstand heavy snows, and the fact it already had three feet of it sitting about when they got there pointed this out. Everyone wore heavy snow gear, and Aurian, awake because of flight, was shivering heavily, matched by Raine mostly.

"Let's get snow-clothes." Lloyd nods. Piers seems perfectly fine with the cold, despite not wearing much. Daichi doesn't seem to be suffering as much, but Shikka is shivering nearly as much as Raine. Regal seems fine with the weather, which is a bit strange given he's got his entire stomach exposed, and Sheena's the other who is shivering. Lloyd, Genis and Colette seem fine, in fact, they've started plans for a snow ball fight already. Zelos is surprisingly quiet, rather like Presea. Piers is in on these plans and Daichi has a look of dread. It's as though he knows that the four are going to drag him into it somehow.

"Let's just get out of the snow." Zelos comments a little flatly, his eyes a grey-blue shade. "There's a shop for winter gear over this way." He starts his way through the snow, hands in his pockets. Aurian's still half-attached to Colette.

"Sir Zelos, are you okay?" Shikka is the one to pick up on the change in the Tethe'Allan noble's mood.

"..." Zelos watches him. "I don't like snow." He doesn't say more than that, heading over to look through the snow-coats. they spread out through the small, heavily heated store. Piers gets a blue, fluffy coat. Shikka settles for snow boots, a black winter coat and warmer pants. Daichi goes for the same except dark blue. Lloyd and Colette simply go for better gloves, and a thick cloaky-thing. Aurian gets winter set, while Raine forces Genis to get a full set as well, rather than the shorts he wears. Sheena joins Raine in getting a winter set in their respective color schemes, while Zelos also gets a cloak like Colette and Lloyd, as well as a scarf. Presea ends up getting a full set, and Regal a cloak. Aurian wants to go straight to the inn and sit in the warmth, while Lloyd, Colette and Genis want their snow fight. Raine and Sheena want to get information from around town, and Zelos is all for staying inside somewhere. Regal is quietly on the side of gathering information. Daichi starts heading towards the inn also. Lloyd looks about, grins, grabbing a double handful of snow, and shoves on the back of Daichi's neck.

"Tag!" He shouts, darting off. Colette and Genis giggle, darting in other directions.

"..." Daichi sighs. Piers runs off also. The half elf turns around, running after Genis. Genis is using the fact he's small to get through the crowds of tourists better, and so he can go through obstacles, like snowmen families, that Daichi would have to go around. And so he changes tact and sneaks up behind Colette. Zelos leans out of his window, looks down and winks. Colette is petting someone's dog, so it's easy to sneak up on her.

And Daichi snowballs her. "Tag."

Colette yelps, falling face first in the snow. "oh!" She giggles, rolling over, and gets back up, grabbing snow on the way. And Daichi flees. Piers has buried himself in a snowdrift. And Lloyd's climbed onto someone's home, watching from there. Colette looks about for a while, but gets distracted by another dog.

"..." Everyone waits. Then she gets distracted by helping a little girl find her mother.

Piers pokes his head out. "What in the name of Pox is taking so long?"

And Colette snowballs him. "Tag!" She giggles, hurrying off.

"Not fair!" Piers yells, emerging from the snowdrift. He spots Genis, summoning up a snowball.

"That's no fair!" Genis protests. "Magic!" He dives for an alley.

"Fiiiine." Piers scoops up some normal snow, throwing it and missing by an inch.

The four, cheerily snowed, return to the inn. Aurian's napping next to the fire, and Zelos is nowhere to be seen. Daichi flops onto the sofa and Piers settles next to him.

"I've found out that an herb called Celsius' Tear may be important to getting through the temple, but in order to not suffer third degree frost-burns from touching it, you need gloves made from Penguinist Quills." Raine says, before glancing at Piers. "Unless Piers can freeze lakes." Piers smirks. "I'll take that as a yes." Raine smiles. "Although, I would still like to get the quills. Celsius' Tear sounds fascinating..."

"That it does." Piers agrees.

"The man asked for a small amount of the quills." Raine holds up a small pouch. "So he could make the gloves." Regal eyes it quietly.

"If it would be all right, I could collect the quills while we stay here." Regal offers.

"So...We have to find this penguin, right?" Piers asks.

"Yes." Raine says. "They're actually fairly common around Flanoir, but not too close to the city."

"So why don't they have an abundance of the quills?" Daichi asks. "Should be easy to harvest used-up ones.

"Because no one really needs them." Raine shrugs. "And because... there's not really a reason to slaughter monsters who attack by throwing snowballs."

"...So they're not a threat, huh?" Daichi comments.

"Yes." Raine says, handing the pouch to Regal. Regal nods and heads out. Daichi nods to himself as though confirming something. He settles back, seeming to go for a nap.

_The thin elf is on her side again, or perhaps as usual, crowded in the corner near the bars, the opposite end from where the humans gathered. She's once again, blankly staring out of the bars in the direction of the guard. The guard in question isn't the usual one. He catches the elf staring, glaring back before standing, deciding to do something about it. A closer look makes it seem like the elf's asleep with her eyes open, for all she reacts to the guard standing._

_"I dunno how the captain puts up with you lot." The guard growls, taking a length of cloth from the drawer of the desk. He opens the cell and binds the elf's eyes. The reaction is instantaneous. The elf screams, flailing for all of a second before falling limp, whimpering and trembling fit to fall to pieces. The guard smirks, hauling her to her feet. The elf doesn't register her change in position, so the guard's the only thing holding her up. And the guard looks around at the humans in the cell, an evil type of smirk on his face. He starts to haul her off to an empty cell nearby. Some of the humans start, while some of the more reasonable simply grab onto the children and cover their ears. The elf's still making panicked noises and simply shaking. The guard shoves the elf into a shadowy corner, holding her by the collar. Her panicked half-noises take on a scream after a second, lights of Mana flaring for all of a breath before the dark steel of her collar and in her wrists heat up. And the guard drops her, swearing fitfully as he nurses his burnt hand. Her panicked sounds become little whimpers of pain as she can't stop the contact with the dark steel, writhing a little as burning scents waft up - old blood and filth more than flesh._

_The guard kicks her. "Stop casting, you long-eared bitch!" She whines, panicked, but the glow of the heated metal starts going down. It seems whatever she'd tried to use was big enough to heat the metal that much, but it was only one spell. The guard, once the steel has cooled down, grabs her once more. She makes a weak noise, the darkness panicking her still. Her fingers twitch uselessly. And the guard starts fiddling with his belt, smirking. The elf stills but for her trembling, almost like she's listening for things over her panicked breathing. She starts trying to wriggle away, making little squeaks. And the guard restrains her more. _

_"Oh, yeah...Gonna enjoy this..." The Desian growls. She wails, trying to shove in his general direction. For someone who's close to hyperventilating, she's fairly accurate. The guard is a little heavier than the elf can shove away. _

_"I love it when they struggle." He grabs her shackled wrists with his free hand. She cries out in pain, her fingers twitching as she tries to tug away rather than shove at him. The Guard begins to plough her. His grip is slightly loose and it drags most of the scabs off. She screams, shaking, her fingers twitching as blood wells up and flows freely. This being an enclosed area, her cries echo. The guard doesn't notice the blood, wearing gloves and having his eyes closed. He continues on in his deed, the screaming attracting the attention of another guard who wanders in with no sense of urgency after about 15 minutes. The elf's cries are losing strength, but still quite a bit frantic and panicked and terrified. The guard, revealed to be Daichi, freezes as he sees the amount of blood pouring from the elf. He swears, running over. _

_"Stop it! Ya gonna kill her!" _

_"Leave it off, captain. I ain't that big." Daichi growls and pulls the Desian from the elf, punching him in the stomach. He's sent sprawling, pants down and bloodstained. The elf wails weakly, so it's more just an incredibly terrified whimper, trying to curl up. She doesn't move very much._

_The guard sits up and notices the blood, turning pale. "Shit." _

_"Exactly, Daisuke. What were my EXACT orders?" _

_Daisuke flinches from Daichi's wrath. "N-Not to touch the elf...Sir..." the elf's shaking again, making small panicky noises._

_"Pull your fucking pants up and get outside. I'm not finished with you." Daisuke stumbles to his feet and pulls his pants up. The elf whimpers again, then falls still. Daichi freezes, paling himself. "Fuck." _

_"What?" _

_"She's not moving." _

_"What?" Daisuke pushes into the cell, only to be floored by Daichi again. _

_"Go. Healer. NOW!" _

_"Y-Yessir." Daisuke gets up and runs. Daichi swears under his breath. _

_He concentrates, forming a badly flickering spell aura. "F-_First Aid_." He growls, managing to seal up the wounds on her wrists. The elf makes a weak noise, a vaguely despairing like one, a half a minute after the spell finishes forcing scabs to form. Daichi rips the blindfold off her, starting to relax slightly. She whimpers, blinking and cringing as much as she can._

_"Hey." He snaps his fingers to try and get her attention. "Are you okay?" Her eyes focus slightly on his hand, and she cringes back some more, whimpering and half-trying to mumble things that sound like a bad translation job of 'I'll be good' and 'don't hurt me'. "Just relax. And nod. Are you okay? I managed to stop the bleeding, but I need to know." The elf stares at him blankly, but doesn't nod. "Damn..." Daisuke returns with the same healer that helped set up the IV. Before the healer can open his mouth, Daichi barks one word. "Diagnostic." The healer looks to be protesting. "Now!"_

_The healer gives him a look, but reaches over and does one. "low on blood, and it's got some internal bleeding. some minor burns, but mostly, in pain." The elf's trembling fit to fall apart again. "And I'm not going to try and find out if there's anything wrong with its head."_

_"Fix the internal bleeding. That's the most important one." The healer grunts, but runs a quick spell, growling something about wasting Mana. The elf whimpers, trying to inch back a little. She's still panicky, but also heavily confused. "Thanks. You can go." The healer rolls his eyes, but leaves. As soon as he does, Daichi has Daisuke by the collar. "Why." He growls. The single word causing Daisuke to flinch. The elf's trying to push herself into the corner, and is doing a slow job of it, complete with little whimpers of pain. _

_Daichi grunts. "I don't care. Get outta my sight." He drops Daisuke and the Desian runs off. Daichi turns back to the cell, slowly walking towards the elf. The elf squeaks, trying to either become one with the walls the way she was squishing back against them, or vanish. She's clearly terrified, and after what happened to her due to the last large Desian, it makes sense. Daichi hunkers next to her, placing a hand gently on her side. He pulls round a canteen of water. "Here. Drink it." She jerks, trembling and trying to writhe away, but being in the corner, there's not much place for the panicked elf to go. Then the fact it was water hit her and she stilled a little, tearily-terrified watching him. He pushes it forward a little more. "Go on...You need to drink." She hesitantly nudges the canteen with her bloodied hands, and squeaks and water sloshes out in an unhelpful manner._

_"Ah..." He holds up the canteen so she can drink from it. "Sorry..." She gives him a startled-half-aware look since she caught his apology, but seemed to promptly forget as she worked drinking. Daichi takes the canteen away when she's had her fill. And it's obvious when she's had her fill because she looks about ready to fall asleep. Daichi smiles slightly, picking the elf up and taking her back into the cell. Most of the humans look confused. And they have every right to look as confused as they do. This wasn't the guard that dragged the elf out._

Aurian's taking a nap curled up on the floor before the fireplace that wasn't quite roaring, but was definitely producing the inn's heat. Lloyd's performing more thorough maintenance on his swords, so he's got bits of metal sitting about him as he cleans a blade. Daichi and Piers are on a sofa, both asleep. Daichi is snoring lightly and Piers is snuggled into his side. Genis chases Raine from the kitchen, yelling that she's not supposed to add cayenne to cream stew, especially not at that stage. Sheena and Colette are out shopping, and Presea's sharpening her axe in some corner. Aurian blinks slowly, stretching rather feline like. Shikka is nearby in lion form, likewise curled up, tail flicking and purring gently. Aurian blinks fully awake a few blinks short as her eyes latch onto Daichi. She gives a squeak, a terrified little panicked squeak, and scrambles behind Lloyd's seat. Lloyd, startled, nearly drops his blade. Shikka looks up, puzzled. The two on the sofa are still asleep. Lloyd blinks about at her, carefully bundling all his blade stuff aside and turning to try to calm the elf, whose ears are flicking like crazy.

"Hey, Aurian, you okay? Well, I mean, something wrong I can help with?" Lloyd realized that his first question was a bit of a stupid one.

"Hurt, hurt." the elf's whimpering mumbling. Daichi stirs slightly, waking up and yawning. Piers does the same. Both men look at each other, then separate to their respective sides hastily. Aurian gives a thin whimper as Daichi yawns, holding her head behind Lloyd's chair.

"Headache?" Lloyd's voice is getting higher with worry. "Water helps, and tea's water with flavor, so we could get you some, 'cause I know I saw some."

"Hurt, hurt, hurt." the elf's almost wailing, curling into the fetal position again. Daichi frowns at the elf's actions, but decides not to get involved. Shikka pads over, nuzzling in to gently. She gives a panicked noise, and scrambles under the table away from Shikka.

"Uhh... Piers... can you find the Professor?" Lloyd looks at a loss.

"Sure." Piers jumps up and goes to find Raine. Shikka blinks, settling down nearby, watching the elf, tail twitching calmly.

"She's usually fine with Shikka, even when she goes all scared..." Lloyd watches Aurian carefully, keeping back himself. "... 'cept for that one time." She's starting to twitchily rub at her wrists, hunched up against a table leg. Piers returns with Raine. Daichi remains still, lost in thought. Raine sets to soothing the elf, which involves crawling under the table with her, and eventually coaxes her into babbling more than that she's hurt, which is the first thing Raine checked.

"Daichi hurt." was it, though.

"..." Daichi lowers his head, silent. His glasses are reflecting the glow of the fire. He looks as though he's trying to remember.

"Really?" Raine asks, trying to be comforting over skeptic. "How?" The teary look that Aurian gave her said that she really didn't want to talk or anything about it.

"Hurt." She insists. "Hurt bad. Worst hurt." she goes back to shuddering, keeping her legs as together as possible.

"...I can't remember anythi..." He cuts himself off.

"Hm?" Lloyd blinks. Aurian's gotten worse with her trembling, so Raine lets it be to try calming her. She looks like he's thinking of calling in Colette-reinforcements.

"I usually remember the same time as her..." Daichi mumbles.

Raine gets her Colette-helper, and leaves the chosen to sooth the elf, wandering over. "That is true." she comments. "Although, most of us find out after you wake at the same time."

"So, either it wasn't me or..." Daichi seems to pale slightly, his expression deadlocked. "I can't remember what I did..."

Raine blinked, and nodded faintly. "Do.. you have any idea what this 'worst hurt' is?" She asked it at a very small whisper, trying to keep the elf from hearing over Colette's soothing mutters. Lloyd's looking very lost, so he goes and makes a batch of tea.

"Probably...rape." Daichi swallows. "A-And if I can't remember that...What else have I done that I can't remember?"

Raine winces. "If you can figure out any state that would make your memory fail you, it could help you pinpoint the patchy places..." Colette's coaxing Aurian to drink the tea.

"..." Daichi stands, turning to leave.

Lloyd turns to follow him. "Wassup?" Sheena came in with a snow-dusted bag, blinked once at what was going on under the table, and went to put things away before helping.

"Nothing. I just need some time... To think." is the ex-Desian's curt reply. Lloyd frowns speculatively at him.

"Thinking works great in a shower." Lloyd says, nudging Daichi so that in getting away from the twinblade he'd head upstairs to where the bathrooms were.

"Thinking also works great when alone." Daichi drops a hint so big, not even Lloyd can miss it. Lloyd grins, and sits in the middle of the hallway out, pulling his blade-work from under his arm and starting up again, right where he was. "..." Daichi glares at him, but moves upstairs anyway. Lloyd grins wider. And inches behind at a gap of half the steps between them. Daichi turns the corner into the bedroom, dropping out of the open window and into the snow. Lloyd returns to his downstairs seat before the door. The girls have managed to get Aurian out from under the table. About half an hour later Daichi returns with a sour expression and a slightly damp head and shoulders.

Lloyd blinks at him, then blinks again and gapes. "How'd you get out here?" Aurian's on the couch half attached to Colette.

"Magic." Daichi responds sarcastically.

"Oh." Lloyd takes it at face value. Zelos comes downstairs shivering.

"Who left the window open?" his hair's dripping and look a bit chilled. Daichi shrugs, sitting on the far, far side of the room away from everyone.

"... Why are your head and shoulders wet?" Genis frowns at Daichi. Aurian's half-asleep.

"Apparently, I don't need to breathe anymore." Genis blinks, Colette blinks, and Raine frowns.

She heads over and whacks him upside the head. "No suicide."

"Ow..." Daichi grumbles, but doesn't react beyond that. It's almost like he's in angel mode.

Raine crosses her arms as she frowns at him. "I want a promise out of you. No suicides." She glances at Lloyd, then back to Daichi. "Or I'll give Lloyd sugar and set him on you."

"...Fine. No suicides. I promise." The half-elf mumbles, staring solidly and blankly at the wall.

Raine eyes him. "And if you break it, I'll set Lloyd on you. With caffeine _and_ sugar." Daichi makes a non-committal monosyllabic noise.

"Why are people using me as a threat?" Lloyd asks the air.

"Maybe because you are one?" Genis snipes, heading back to the kitchen.

"I completely agree." Piers says, without missing a beat or page of his book. Lloyd makes a very mature face at them. "You're not proving us wrong with that face." Piers points out, still looking down at his book.

"... How did you know I was making a face?" Lloyd frowns. "You aren't even looking at me."

"Magic." Piers responds.

"... oh." Lloyd blinks. Daichi is looking completely blank, his stare boring the theoretical hole in the wall. Lloyd notices this while Zelos wanders off to finish drying his hair. Lloyd picks up a book, and waves it in Daichi's line of sight. And Daichi's gaze does not flicker at all. His eyes seem empty. So Lloyd puts the book down, and finds something shiny to do the same with.

Daichi blinks. "What?"

"Just wanted a reaction." Lloyd grins.

"Remember what I said by the stream." Daichi growls. Zelos winks.

"Hey, you're not a zombie anymore!" Lloyd's still grinning.

"..." Daichi gives Lloyd a dour look before leaning back in his chair.

Raine grabs onto Daichi's collar. "Come on." she tugs on him.

Daichi makes a slight strangled noise. "W-Why?"

"We're going sock shopping. You need more." Raine continues pulling on his shirt to make him follow. She's already got her winter gear on.

Daichi groans. "Fiiiiiiiiiiine."

And so when they return, Daichi has another three pairs of socks. And Daichi is not happy, but steers clear of Aurian as he stomps upstairs to pack them. Aurian's asleep again, leaning on Colette. Daichi doesn't come back downstairs.

"Dinner's done." Genis calls, just about the same time Regal returns. He quietly explains that he turned the pouch of feathers in to the craftsman so he can make the gloves before drying himself off from the snow. And Daichi still doesn't come back down. Zelos is still rather withdrawn, and Aurian remains asleep. Regal blinks as Colette carefully leans the elf against the armrest rather than waking her.

"... I was absent for something." Regal notes.

"Should I get Daichi?" Lloyd asks.

Piers stretches. "I think he wants to be alone."

"... okay." Lloyd sighs, but food distracts him. Genis fixes a second plate, covers it with another, and sets it in the kitchen. Everyone eats. It seems a more somber meal than usual with no Daichi, Zelos acting weird and Aurian asleep. After everyone's done and picking up, Raine takes the set aside plate for Aurian and sits next to the elf to wait for her to wake so she can eat. Genis had put together another plate for Daichi, which he left on the counter. Lloyd decides that a meal is enough 'alone time' for Daichi, and heads up with the intent of getting him to eat. And Lloyd opens the door to find Daichi lying on his bed, taking small, regular sips from a flask. He seems slightly drunk.

"..." Lloyd blinks at him. "Want food?" he asks.

"Not hungry." He semi-slurrs back.

"Okay." Lloyd shrugs. He heads for his bed and flops on it, intending to finish his in-depth maintenance. The presence of someone else doesn't stop the half-elf drinking. He soon drops his empty flask with a clunk of metal on wood. Genis shortly follows, with Zelos behind and Regal to collect a change of clothes before heading to bathe. Piers comes up, glancing at Daichi who is staring at the ceiling. Genis goes to reading while Lloyd shucks his coat and gloves, working on his swords. Zelos just shucks his coat and lies down to sleep. Shikka is downstairs in lion form guarding Aurian. Daichi glances at Zelos, mouth open to say something but something in his fuzzy mind clicks and he decides against it. Zelos, with his back to Daichi and the rest, doesn't notice. Lloyd's caring for his blades, and simply oblivious to the rest of the world. And Daichi does the same as Zelos, turning onto his side.


	48. With Cold

April 10th

* * *

Morning in Flanoir is very bright as the dawn light reflects off the snow, which happens to be everywhere. Lloyd grumbles, putting his pillow over his head. Daichi has since sprawled over his bed, pillow over his head. Genis is up, rubbing sleep from his eyes, and Zelos is grumbling like Lloyd, his pillow firmly over his head as well. Regal is getting his boots and greaves on with quiet practice.

Piers falls out of bed. "Ow. I can't see..."

"Blink a few times." Regal offers his advice, picking up his winter coat as well as his pack to leave the room. Daichi rolls out of bed, pulling his boots on in the shadow created by it. Lloyd seems to have fallen back asleep, while Zelos gives up on doing that and gets dressed, following Regal out without a word.

Daichi stands and starts poking Lloyd with a wooden training blade. "If'm up, yer gettin' up." He mumbles. Lloyd snags it and pulls the sword under the blanket with him.

"Mine." He grumbles.

"Fine. I'll just go ask Piers to make it rain, then." Lloyd retaliates by shining the Sorcerer's Ring in his face. The one they got from the Gaoracchia Forest. Daichi stumbles back slightly, dazzled. Lloyd rolls and gets off the bed, however he's tangled in the blanket. Daichi wanders downstairs. Aurian's under a blanket on the couch next to the fire, asleep yet. Presea's sitting blankly on the couch as well, half of her hair down and the other half getting put up. Shikka is lying before the fire, grooming himself. Regal has started to make breakfast, although all that is ready so far is hot water for tea or coffee. Shikka seems to have done the Private areas before everyone got up. Daichi sits next to the lion on the floor, scritching. Lloyd manages not to trip over anything, or his own feet, on his way down, and Regal, with a small amused look, hands him a mug of coffee. Lloyd makes a grateful noise. Daichi is leaning against Shikka, petting and scritching the huge lion. Lloyd slowly wakes better, and Aurian stays asleep. Presea gets her hair up into her two tails, while Genis and Colette make their way down. Shikka's purring madly, rolling onto his back and Daichi belly-rubs. Colette joins in the belly rubs, and Presea takes the opportunity to steal a paw to poke at the pads. Shikka doesn't care, enjoying the attention, purring louder. The rumbling noise wakes Aurian, but she just snuggles deeper into the blanket and couch. Raine shakes her head at their actions, taking a seat at the table. Daichi stands after 10 more minutes, sitting at the table also. Regal sets out pancakes, and a double boiler with syrup in the top. Lloyd gleefully helps him get plates to he can devour pancakes. Daichi eats his own slowly as if he's not hungry and is just eating them because they're food. Aurian eventually wakes enough to want food, but she remains half-frozen on the couch, watching. Raine gets her a plate and food and instructs her to sit on the floor rather than get the couch possibly messy. Daichi notices, but tries to not let on that he has. He fails.

"It isn't just you." Sheena mutters. "It's all of the guys." She seems to prefer her pancakes swimming in syrup.

"Understandable." Daichi comments lowly.

"Tension breaker, but how are we planning to do this Celsius recruiting if one of our heavy hitters is scared of over half the group?" Zelos asks, remarkably without too much joking/jovial tone.

"Well, the rest of us will have to work twice as hard." Piers comments.

"And I'll join in the battle." Shikka rumbles.

"... That'll help." Lloyd grins.

"I was asking more along the lines of, how's it going to work out." Zelos says, pushing his finished plate away and leaning back in the chair. "I mean, taking her with will keep her all shaking, but leaving her here'd probably be worse, ya know?"

"Yeah. I guess." Daichi mumbles. "We'll have to take her with us."

"And this is when splitting up could be dangerous..." Genis mutters.

"Well, we'll just fly, and camp in a sheltered area before the temple." Raine says.

"It won't matter, then." Lloyd grins.

"We've already gotten supplies." Sheena indicates Colette and herself.

"Then shall we leave?" Shikka asks.

"All right." Raine nods. "Head out first, and we'll follow."

* * *

April 11th

* * *

The Temple of Ice is right in the outer ring of the Freya continent, as in, it's built right into a cliff. There's a frozen stream from the second level, and a cave-opening on the first. That they could see. It was also still very cold. Aurian's behind Raine, half holding onto the half-elf healer. Daichi is on the far end of the party away from Aurian with Shikka next to Raine. Piers looks happy and in his element. Literally. As the ice-stream was too slick to head up, not that Lloyd didn't try, they headed inside. Inside, was a giant cave. The sound of running and dripping water reached them as the temperature got higher. Piers seems to be full of energy, darting forward. He seems to be glowing. Lloyd jumps over a penguinist, which is to say, he jumped over a blue penguin the same size as him, and makes a Sorcerer's Ring copy. Genis _Fireball_'s the Penguinist, following.

"Whoa! This ring's cold!" Lloyd cheers.

"I thought you said they were harmless." Daichi comments about flaming the Penguinist.

"They still throw snow at you." Regal mentions.

"I bet you can use the ring's cold power to freeze anything." Genis muses.

"Okay, then let's test it on you." Lloyd grins at the mage, but walks past him rather than pointing the ring at Genis.

"I think they're awesome~" Piers comments, seeming a bit too happy. The next one is rolling a ball of snow as tall as it toward the party. Genis gets ready to fry it. Lloyd froze a drip of water that turned into square. "_Supercool_!" Piers yells. Shards of ice spike from the ground. The snowball runs into them. And they nearly get knocked over as Lloyd runs right through their group, chased by a mob of the penguinists, who were throwing snowballs at him. He's cackling.

"Lloyd! What the hell did you do?" Daichi yells as he Destruction Fields a Penguinist that got too close.

"I froze one!" Lloyd cackles.

"Idiot!" Daichi yells, slamming into another.

"But someone said they were 'harmless'!" Lloyd runs from the storm of snowballs. Aurian's muttering to herself, and red runes slowly gather about her. Daichi is _Destruction Field_ing many Penguinists that get too close and Piers is just attacking them manually.

"Lloyd, you douchenozzle!" The mariner yells. Aurian unleashes a storm of small fireballs upon the Penguinists. Raine's whacking them with her staff, and Genis is making melee use of his kendama. Shikka has shifted into lion form and is mauling the Penguinists. He, too, has a look of "Lloyd is an idiot" on his face. Sheena's slapping seals and kicking the Penguinists, not bothering with any of her Artes, while Zelos, Regal and Presea are doing the same. The penguinists are not that tough. Daichi seems to just want to burn off steam, switching between _Destruction Field_, _Dark Destruction_ and _Converging Fury_. In anycase, the human sized penguins fall. Raine whacks Lloyd upside the head. Lloyd yelps. Then Genis kicks him in the shins and, when he's doubled over, Daichi elbows him in the back. Lloyd yelps again as he flops onto the ground. And then Zelos steps on him to walk past.

"So, what now?" Genis asks.

"The way ahead's flooded." Lloyd mutters, pushing off the ground.

Piers steps forward to look in. "I could probably freeze a path."

"And I saw a blue plant growing that way." Lloyd indicates back the way they had come, where there was also a ramp up.

Daichi clonks Lloyd again. "They are harmless. Just annoying. Reminds me a lot of a certain someone." Lloyd mutters that _Rising Phoenix_ is not under his definition of harmless, rubbing his head. Daichi merely grunts at this. Piers is examining the flooded area. They're standing on a shelf of stone before a large lake with some stones sticking out. There's a hole in the wall to their left where water is pouring in.

"We need to stop the main flow." Piers mumbles.

"If that blue plant Lloyd saw is Celsius' Tear, then it should be able to freeze it." Raine wants to look at the plant. "The man in town said it could freeze anything."

" What? And I can't?"

"Are you going to?" Raine asks.

"I will." Piers frowns. "If we can stop the flow. Lemme try something." Piers spreads himself into a casting position and points at the water source. "_Frost_!" The flow freezes. Before Genis can cheer that they did it, it cracks, and starts flowing again. "Guess I need to charge it a bit..." Piers starts to concentrate. Lloyd stares at Piers intently, curiosity everywhere. Piers starts pulsing, a series of rings pulsing up from him. "_Frost_!" The flow freezes. They wait a moment, listening, but it doesn't crack too ominously. Just tiny little cracking noises. Piers keeps blasting it with _Frost_ to make sure. And it stays put with the tiny crackling noises. "Yes!" Piers exclaims, obviously happy with his achievement.

"Now the lake needs to get frozen." Lloyd blinks at the frozen flow, then the lake.

Achievement unlocked – 20g – You Cheated.

"I'm on it!" Piers says enthusiastically, starting to cast. Lloyd looks up.

"What's that?" He points.

"... I dunno." Seems everyone else can see it too. There's a crackling sound.

"... Anyone hear that?" Genis asks.

"Probably the sound of the ice." Piers calls back, not looking.

"Or the sound of the fourth wall." Daichi comments.

"Oh. Okay then." Genis nods. Piers is still freezing the lake. So they sit about and wait. Or not sit, because it's still really cold. And cold stone is not comfortable to sit on. Piers eventually finishes.

"Yay!" Is the cheer from the Iselian Trio.

Aurian's still trying to hide behind Raine. "Cold." They start walking across the frozen lake. Lloyd blinked at one of the rocky outcroppings, then yelped, backpedaling and flailing. He slipped and fell on his ass.

"Fail." Daichi says, stepping over the sprawled twinblade.

"But it's got a face!" Lloyd points at the stone outcropping. A face it had, if you counted a frown, a pointy nose, and glass red eyes.

"So?" Daichi mumbles. "A lot of things have faces."

"This one has a face too." Colette's cheating. Rather than walking across the ice, she's hovering a little off the surface. "It's just facing a different direction."

"... Man, that is one ugly mug." Zelos has found a third. Daichi, obviously in a foul mood from the penguinist attack, looks to Zelos.

"Yeah, and I'm looking at another one right now." It's much to note that Daichi is wearing ice boots.

"Takes one to know one." Zelos shoots back, as Genis finds a fourth.

"... They're all facing different directions." Colette hovers up to look at the four heads.

"Stay up all night thinkin' that one?" Daichi retaliates.

"Not as long as you stayed up." Zelos shrugs. Raine's angry-vein is twitching.

"Let's... get going." Lloyd pushed off from one of the outcroppings and slid forward gleefully. And Piers sticks his foot out, tripping Lloyd over. Lloyd slides the rest of the way on his stomach. He manages to get to his feet before his face can impact with the stone on the other side of the frozen lake. Regal sighs a little, following Lloyd. Aurian's still half-hiding behind Raine. Shikka is also looking like a depressed kitty at the antics. Daichi seems to be blanking them best he can. Before them is a shut door, and four ice statues. Lloyd's staring at them. They're tall, square, carved, and have frowning, beak nosed, red eyed faces.

Piers is walking around the statues. "Hm...Wonder what we do here...?"

"The answer lies in the place with a view?" Lloyd reads aloud from a carved sign.

"... Well, there's our door hint." Raine says, frowning at the statues.

"... They're not facing the same ways as the ones in the ice." Colette notices.

Piers points out a ledge. "Place with a view."

"I'll go!" On Colette's way further into the air, she manages to trip, and knock into one of the statues. Rather than shattering, the statue turns. "... oops."

"So. The statues move..." Piers mumbles. Colette flies up. She hovers there for a moment or two, then flies back down.

"The statues in the lake are standing about like these ones!" She reports. "In the same pattern." She clarifies after a moment.

"Hm..." Piers seems lost in thought.

"But they're facing differently." Colette mentions again. "The one in the lake that's closest to us is facing away, not toward the door."

"Well, lets turn that one around, then." Daichi says, walking over to it and starting to move it. There's a tiny, tiny click when he finishes.

"I heard a click." Presea comments.

"Then we're doing the right thing?" Sheena's rubbing her arms to keep warm.

"Looks that way." Daichi comments. "What else was out of place?" He calls up to Colette.

Colette flies back up to look at both sets. "The left one is facing in, and the right one is facing the door." Colette replies. And Daichi goes to move the right, Shikka going to the right. And after they've been moved, there's identical clicks. Presea reports hearing them again. "The bottom one is facing left." Colette flies back down to them. Piers, Lloyd and Genis move this one. And there's a final click, then the door shifts, ice-flakes falling as the sealed door un-seals. Lloyd shoves Zelos lightly to get him to open the door, the Tethe'Allan chosen shrugging and opening it. Piers peeks in the door curiously. It's a large cave, with a seal altar in the back of it. Currently, empty. Lloyd blinks, grins at Zelos, then steps in, looking about curiously. Daichi has his axe causually over his shoulder, but ready to use. After they're all in, the room shakes a little. A thin layer of ice creeps along the floor, the walls, jsut thick enough to visibly frost over everything. A cold voice calls out.

"You who possess the right of the pact. I am Celsius, one who is bound to Mithos, the hero." The ice is thickest about the seal altar. Daichi shivers. Piers looks very interested in what's going on. Aurian's looking a little grumpy again, shivering from the cold as well. Sheena takes a deep breath, and ignores the cloud of mist that comes from her exhale.

"I seek a pact with Celsius. I ask that thou annulst thy pact with Mithos, and establish a new pact with me." Sheena calls out.

"You seek a pact with me? How amusing." An Absolute forms, the pyramid of glass-like ice shattering to show a woman with dark hair, blue skin, in a halter top and split skirt. From a 'corner', the room was round, behind the altar came a large blue and white wolf that stood three times the height of the summon. "Let's see if you can handle me." Celsius smirks at them, dropping to the floor next to the wolf.

Daichi smirks lightly, readying his axe. "Let's see." He states, shifting into a readt position. Piers draws a new blade, whirling it. Lloyd pulls out a red piece of quartz, and tosses one to Presea, Zelos, Regal, Daichi, Sheena and Colette. Lloyd crushes the crystal against his blades, and they glow red for a second. Genis has darted away, muttering under his breath about which fire-spell he wanted to use, Raine casting _Acuity_ and _Field Barrier_. Daichi does the same with his axe, smirking. Piers' blade is already glowing blue. Lloyd gives the blue glow a confused glance, but charges in with Presea and Sheena to strike at the large wolf, which Raine calls Fenrir, and for the love of Mana, don't hit either with Ice. Aurian's muttering under her breath, her red spell runes flickering rather than strong.

"Flames of Niflheim, cremate my enemy in a cage of fire.." Genis mutters.

Piers' sword blazes with blue fire. He runs in. "_Blazing Slash_!" He yells, striking a hard blow on Fenrir.

Daichi runs in also. "_Destruction Field_!" The large awkwardly proportioned wolf howls, sitting back on its narrow haunches to swipe with large claws. Celsius turned to _Beast_ into Lloyd, but Sheena _Pyre_ _Seal_ed the summon and knocked her away. Regal darted in with _Swallow Dance_, and Zelos followed with _Hell Pyre_. Daichi shifts his target to Celsius, aiming a _Dark Destruction_ for the Summon.

"Burn! _Infernal Prison_!" Genis casts, the spell on the Fenrir, then quickly changes position.

"Fall." Aurian manages not to mutilate the word with her chattering teeth. "_Fearful Flare_!" Rounds of small fireballs fell about both the summon and the ice wolf as Genis' spell creates a large glowing runic circle under Fenrir.

Daichi gets hit by a shard of ice in his back, forcing his wings out. "..." There's a second where everyone sort of deadpans with him, as this is a fairly common occurrence in large battles. Colette's hovering high, singing her _Holy Song_ and filling the air with the haunting music. Lloyd's chaining Strike Artes as he pummels into the slightly singed wolf. Zelos is attempting to flirt with the summon while he's attacking. It isn't working out.

"Zelos, keep your hand out of your pocket!" Piers yells. Zelos chucks a gel at Piers' head, from the hand in said pocket. His momentary distraction allowed Celsius to _Beast_ him back, earning a yelp from the Tethe'Allan noble, and Colette breaks her _Holy Song_ to cast _Angel Feathers_, her Chakrams shedding feathers.

Daichi is mumbling half the words to his own _Holy Song_. "_Borderline, Dead inside_..." He continues, mumbling.

Colette flies back up, chanting again. "Oh holy one, cast thy purifying light upon these corrupt souls.."

Celsius frowns, pale blue runes flicking about her. "_Freeze Lancer_!" Colette cuts her spell and flies away from the spell. Daichi finishes. His wings flare and feathers spread all over the field. if they touch the party members, they feel slight healing abilities and boosting spells. Daichi doesn't seem that adept at that song yet. Aurian cast's another round of _Fearful_ _Flare_, but doesn't move after casting, immediately moving into another spell. The Fenrir, displeased by its pummeling at the hands, and feet, of Lloyd, Presea, Piers and Regal, turns and moves toward the elf. Raine casts a frantic _Barrier_ on Aurian, knowing better than to get in the way of a charging boss beast.

Daichi starts casting once more. "Oh mighty power rain forth! _Limited_!" He aims the spell at the Fenrir, missing by a hairs breadth. It didn't get hit, so the Fenrir doesn't change course. On all four legs, it's faster than Lloyd can follow, and knocks the elf back. Due to Raine's spells, Aurian's knocked out of her casting, but not too badly scratched, just breathless. Her expression flickers, like she's seeing something else for a moment, and her reaction time vanishes as the wolf moves to strike again. And Daichi flies in the way, taking the brunt of the attack with no barrier-type spell. He gets thrown away and slammed into a wall, his glasses shattering on impact. Being in angel form, he pulls himself free from the wall. He begins casting _Limited_ once more. Aurian stares blankly ahead still, her ears twitching into confused lines. Lloyd shouts, knocking into the elf rather than letting her take another attack, and Regal smashes the Fenrir's jaw while Presea reaches its hind legs and slashes. And Daichi unleashes a _Limited_ directly onto the Fenrir. He starts up casting again.

"Aurian? You okay?" Lloyd pulls her up, shoving an apple gel into her hands. "Heal, keep casting, almost got them. Remember to move!" Lloyd turns and slams a _Tiger Blade_ to Celsius, who was moving to aid her Fenrir, despite Zelos and Sheena hounding her.

"Oh mighty weapon of purest light, strike my enemy and purge their foulness! _Holy Cross_!" Daichi fires the spell at Celsius. Aurian recovers, eats the gel, and backs up to cast fire spells again.

"Roar, o conflagration, and command all impure souls to their ashen ends..." Aurian's still chattering a little from chill, as the healing gel gets to work. Celsius is looking pissed off, and returns to attacking Zelos brutally. Piers runs in on Celsius, swinging his blazing sword for the summon.

Daichi flies up and above the Fenrir, starting to cast in the air. "Shine, oh blazing light! _Photon_!" Lloyd knocks into Fenrir, staggering it with Beast. Genis looses _Flame_ _Lance_ into Celsius, and Aurian finishes her spell.

"_Ancient Nova_!" A hole is ripped in the air around the same time Genis' spell forms a lance of fire. _Flame Lance _hits and creates a dome of flame as fire that looked molten poured out of the hole in the air, causing the Fenrir and Celsius to scream. Piers jumps out of the way just in time and Daichi is hovering above the epicenter. The combination of spells makes both vanish. The rent in the air seals, cutting off the flow of fire, which had done little more than melt all the ice into a puddle about the floor.

Piers relaxes slightly. He relaxes in the pool of melted ice, his sword sizzling. "Is it over?"

"Looks like it." Sheena shrugs.

"Excellent. It would appear that my freezing chill is but a summer's breeze to you. Now, speak your vow." Celsius reforms. "A vow worthy of my power!" Daichi lands near to Aurian, staring blankly. His injuries look severe, but the half-elf doesn't seem bothered.

"For the sake of creating a place in which the two worlds no longer must sacrifice one another, I ask that thou grant me thy power!" Sheena speaks her vow, and Aurian blinks rapidly at Daichi, her ears still in confused lines. She hesitantly starts up a healing spell.

"Understood. Use my power well." Celsius vanishes into a ball of light that gives Sheena a Sapphire. Daichi stands there, blinking. Piers starts sealing up his wounds with a few _Ply Well_s before having to sit in the water to try to get his breath back.

"Okay, so we've got one Tethe'Allan summon left." Lloyd blinks, giving Sheena a high five. He gives Aurian a slightly worried look, because the elf looks a little dazed, and Daichi a more worried look. "We okay to move about?"

Piers stands, seeming a little woozy but recovers. "I'm fine." Daichi merely nods.

"Let's camp in the mouth of the cavern." Raine says, tapping Daichi on the shoulder to get him to follow her. And Daichi does, spookily hovering after Raine. Exactly like Colette used to do with Lloyd. So they head back past the frozen lake, which is remarkably still frozen, and back to the exit. And they set camp up there. Aurian's less twitchy, although still cold. Daichi just sits on the edge of camp, wings fluttering slightly. After Regal made dinnertime stew, and everyone had eaten, Lloyd frowns a little.

"Why'dya space out?" He asks Aurian. Who was spacing out again. ".. uh..." Piers saves some for Daichi, knowing that the man will be hungry/in a lot of pain when he regains himself. Shikka plods over and nuzzles Aurian, in lion form. Aurian blinks more aware, and for once in the past couple of days, doesn't recoil from Shikka.

"Was nice." Aurian points at Daichi. Shikka flops on the elf, nice and warm. He leaves her arms free, purring. Daichi acknowledges nothing. Aurian squeaks, then wriggles, and draws her arms back closer to her.

"... And you remembered him taking an attack for you from Gnome while fighting Celsius..." Genis muses, remembering that bit as something Daichi could have done to be nice.

"... No. Very fuzzy. Squishy comfy fuzzy. Helped me." Aurian shrugs as much as she's able to with a lion lying on her. Shikka purrs.

"So, a memory." Raine puts in. "From before the Ranches?"

"No. In." that was all that Raine was going to get on that tangent.

"So, what did Mr. Bi-polar do?" Zelos asks.

"... food." Aurian mumbles slowly.

"... He fed you?" Lloyd's trying to make the mental image and failing. Piers looks between Daichi and Aurian, frowning at Zelos for that comment.

Aurian blinks a little. "I think."

"You think." Raine repeats.

"Very fuzzy." Aurian says.

"What would make it clearer?" Shikka asks, purring.

"..." Aurian looks like she's thinking hard. "... Dunno. Very very very fuzzy. In memory, fuzzy."

"... were you sick?" Raine offers the idea.

"Injured?" Piers puts forward.

"..." Aurian concentrates harder. "... injured." she agrees finally.

"So he took care of you when you were injured?" Colette blinks.

"Isn't that a little bit contradictory?" Piers asks. Aurian and Lloyd blink blankly at Piers.

"Contradictionary?" Lloyd frowns.

"Makes no sense. It doesn't match with what the Desians actually DO."

"Is in my head." Aurian mutters.

"We're not implying that you remember wrong." Genis says. "It's just odd that a Desian would care for someone who they torment."

"Very odd." Piers confirms. "Especially from what you've remembered up until this point." He looks to Daichi. "I wonder..." Aurian blinks a bit, before putting her arms under her head and deciding now is a good time to nap.

* * *

April 12th

* * *

Lloyd is half awake, hunched over a cup of hot chocolate. Colette's half asleep, looking out in another direction. The rest seem to be more or less asleep. And a pained howl comes from the direction of Daichi's roll. The half elf is in a ball, seeming to be holding his stomach where he was injured. Aurian tries to jump up and away in her startlement, Genis yelping as he jolts awake. Raine has her staff out before she's fully sitting up. Regal's in a crouch before his bedroll completely falls down. Lloyd yelps as he nearly spills all over himself. Piers is up, a dagger in his hand. Daichi is swearing profusely, seeming in intense pain. Presea sits up, blinking, while Sheena puts her pillow firmly over her head.

"Oi, oi." Zelos shoves his hair back and staggers over. "_First_ _Aid_." Raine shakes her head to clear it, and _First Aid_'s Daichi herself. It doesn't seem to work. He eventually calms down, panting heavily. Aurian blinks confusedly.

"... Well, that's an interesting reaction." Zelos sits heavily back on his bedroll.

Lloyd half glomps him. "Welcome to Team Misfit, Zelos." Zelos squawks.

"Well, we did heal him earlier..." Raine's poking Daichi a little.

Daichi twitches. "What the f-fuck was that?" He stammers. He winces suddenly, shuddering. Raine lightly hits him upside the head, rather than the full force ones.

"You aren't hurt... and over healing has never done anything before." Raine mutters.

"I always feel sleepy and hungry after the angel stuff." He groans.

"You got hurt while an Angel today..." Raine mutters. "Where did it hurt?... Hurt most?"

"M-My stomach...Around that...Area." He still seems very shaken.

"Well, that's because you were nearly gutted by a wolf." Raine says. Lloyd and Zelos have gotten into a mock fist-fight. Lloyd seems to be winning. "Perhaps because Angels cannot feel, and you were injured..."

"So this damned thing pays back pain, too?"

"It seems that way." Raine says.

"I think I hit my head...How was I injured?"

"You stopped the Fenrir from taking a chunk out of Aurian." Genis says. A ghost of a smile plays about Daichi's lips for a second.

"...?" Genis catches a hint of it. Raine's muttering and scribbling in her journal.

"..." And Daichi's back to his normal expression. He pulls a pair of glasses free, slipping them on.

"Aurian seemed to have recalled a time when you aided her, Daichi, and that was the cause of her distraction in battle." Regal says. Aurian seems to have fallen back asleep.

"...Yeah. I remember that..."

"I see." Regal leaves it at that. It's early enough that the man can start breakfast.

"She claims it was fuzzy." Raine says, finishing up her notes.

"I wasn't wearing fur." Daichi says, missing the point.

Raine notices that. "That her memory is unclear." Raine clarifies.

Daichi blinks. "Oh..." He sighs. "Guessing you want to know what happened, huh?"

"Given that whatever it was caused her negative reactions to the male elements of our party to all but vanish, it is interesting. I'd like to know." Raine says.

"Well, yeah. I pulled that guy...Daisuke off her. He was..." He glances to Aurian. "...Raping her." he says the subject quieter.

"Ah." Raine blinks. "She panicked, and jumped to conclusions, then."

"Do you blame her?" Daichi asks grimly.

"Given the topic of her memory the time before, no." Raine shrugs.

"I am...sorta happy that she remembers." He says. The next bit is mumbled as Daichi subconsciously rubs his Exsphere. "This means I kept my promise..."

"She's confused rather than distressed, which is a good thing, I suppose." Raine sighs. Regal has finished making breakfast, as most of the party didn't fall back asleep, and there was a hint of light outside.

"Good...I don't want anyone else to suffer." Daichi mumbles.

"...uh..." Genis is staring west. "Guys... What's that?"


	49. Forest Fire

"...Uh..." Genis is staring west. "Guys... What's that?"

Daichi stands, squinting. "I dunno..." there are multiple flashes of bright light.

"What's going on?" Zelos doesn't look pleased, and Aurian gives a small wail, holding her head.

"That's... the direction of Ozette..." Presea blinks.

Piers stands. "Then let's go check it out."

Daichi nods. "I agree."

"What could it be?" Genis is gathering some of the breakfast and shoving it down his throat. "There's a staggering amount of Mana flowing from that... lightning."

"I have a bad feeling about this." Raine pulls out and passes about Rheairds.

"Lightning, huh..." Piers mumbles. "Could it be Yuan or the Renegades? They seem to like lightening a lot..."

"Possibly." Raine sighs, getting Aurian calm enough to ride the Rheaird.

"How about we don't worry about who's doing it until we get there, and kick their asses." Lloyd proposes the idea, not even sitting properly before taking to the sky.

"It does take us two days or so to fly back to Ozette. There is a possibility they'll already be gone." Daichi says with a tone that says 'idiot.' Lloyd's already far away enough that he can't hear Daichi.

Genis sighs. "We better catch up before he forgets about us."

"I actually believe that." Daichi grumbles, climbing onto his Rheaird.

* * *

April 14th

* * *

And it does take them two days to reach Ozette, but the lightning kept up for the first, and then half way through the second.

Daichi keeps his eyes fixated on Lloyd. "If this is nothing but a wild goose chase..."

"What's a goose?" Lloyd blinks, but turns back to heading for Ozette. Lloyd had started out running, but Raine had hit him and told him no.

"It's a mythical creature." Daichi comments. Ozette is in flames.

"No!" Colette wails. One of the houses starts to crumble, and there's a blond child on the ground.

"This is..." Presea's voice is small. "Horrible."

"What happened here?" Lloyd's angry. Daichi and Piers quickly jump to quench the flames.

"Lloyd, look!" Genis cuts off his own water spell to point at the child.

"Look out!" Colette yells, as the burning buildings begin crumbling, and the branches of the large tree aren't doing much better. Aurian's having a small panic attack, by the way she's curling up and trembling. Daichi quickly runs in. He seems to have a Lloyd-like instinct for saving people. He draws his axe, yelling "_Converging Fury_" to try and deflect a large amount of rubble.

Lloyd's already darted over to the kid. "What's wrong, you okay?" Lloyd shakes the kid, then notices he's out like a light. Genis casts _Spread_ in the area where they are, creating a bit of steam. "We have to get out of here!" Lloyd pulls the kid up. Daichi continues to bat debris away from the party. Lloyd carries the kid back to the rest, who have all somehow made it down to in front of Presea's house, which is miraculously untouched.

"What the hell just happened here?" Lloyd asks, frowning with the kid on his back. Daichi appears, brushing charred rubble off him.

"..I.. don't really know." Lloyd manages not to drop the boy as he speaks up. He does set the preteen down, though. Piers walks up, starting to cast a _Ply_ on the preteen, to heal and cool him down. Piers gets a shaky smile from the blond boy. His hair has a slight tinge of green to it, and his eyes are blue. "I mean... lightning fell from the sky, and angels attacked the village."

"... Angels?" Raine says after taking a deep breath.

"Why would the Cruxis attack Ozette?" Daichi asks. "It's not like them to attack a place of little coincidence."

"They had wings. Those with wings are angels...right?" The boy asks hesitantly. Lloyd's looking irritable, rubbing his hair every which way.

"Maybe all of the Cruxis are just batshit and wanted to have a party." Zelos offers.

"That makes a lot of sense." Daichi says, accepting Zelos' explanation without anything untoward towards the noble...Which was weird. Zelos blinks once, but pretends to not have noticed.

"Cruxis..." Presea mutters tonelessly. "So angels destroyed the village..."

"Presea, are you okay?" Regal asks.

"...I'm fine." Presea mutters. "But... this unsettling irritation... Is this... anger?"

"Yep...That's anger." Daichi confirms. "Does it burn?"

"..." Presea looks like she's thinking. "... a little."

"You musn't be angry enough, then." Raine knocks him in the side with an elbow.

"I'm impressed that you survived." Zelos tells the kid. "You the only survivor? What's your name?" There's something a tiny bit odd about Zelos. Maybe it's that he's serious. Daichi oofs lightly. There's a slight, ever so slight glint. Like there is a tiny, teeny portion of him that's still enjoying watching sadistic acts.

"My name is Mithos." The kid says. "I lived by myself on the outskirts of the village, so..."

"You've got the same name as Mithos, the hero." Lloyd cheers. Speaking of The Hero, Mithos, Lloyd's hair hasn't recovered from its bleaching, although he's got brown roots showing. Daichi and Genis smirk at each other, trying hard not to laugh.

Genis then blinks at Mithos. "... Wait.. Are you a half-elf?"

Mithos flinches. "I..I.. No." He inches backward.

"Relax." Raine says.

"Yeah. I'm a half-elf." Daichi points to himself.

"And you can tell that, can't you?" Raine continues. She's a bit better at soothing people than Daichi is. Mithos blinks, his jaw dropping a bit.

"You're half-elves, too?" He gapes a bit at Genis, Raine and Daichi. "But you're with humans!"

"It's okay." Colette chirps. "We're all friends."

Piers nods. "Yeah. I think Daichi would tear us apart if we weren't. He's the psychopathic type." He says. Daichi throws a rock at the mariner who expertly dodges.

"... Humans and Half-elves as friends?" Mithos asks. "You're lying!"

"No, it's true." Genis crosses his arms a little. "My sister, Daichi, and I are part of this group."

"Relax." Raine repeats. Daichi folds his arms, knowing that bickering with Piers won't help.

"...Y..yeah, but..." Mithos doesn't look like he wants to believe them.

"Your reaction is understandable." Regal speaks up. "I've heard that the village of Ozette is particularly known for its contempt for half-elves. If you lived an isolated life in this village, you must have suffered."

"Yes, but no longer, master Mithos." Shikka comments. He's hidden his tail and ears. "We're going to watch out for you, no doubt." Aurian's half hiding behind Sheena. Lloyd grins at Shikka.

"What happened here...?" A low voice calls. It's Altessa!

"Altessa, right?" Lloyd blinks and frowns a tiny bit at the grumpy dwarf. "What are you doing here?"

"I saw the lightning of judgment fall towards this village." Altessa says. "But what in the world..."

"It was the work of Cruxis angels..." Presea manages to sound a bit venomous there.

"I knew it looked familiar." Daichi says.

"I thought that Judgment was a Light, or Holy, spell." Genis frowns. "It looked like lightning..."

"When... It was used against us..." Lloyd avoids saying 'when that weird bastard Kratos attacked us'. "It pulled up clouds."

"Presea! You've regained your true self?" Altessa is startled. "How could they do this? Is this their punishment for failing the experiment?"

Daichi frowns. "What did Ozette have to do with the experiment?"

"Rosebud _is_ from Ozette." Zelos reminds him.

"What do you mean, punishment...?" Sheena frowns.

"..Nothing." Altessa grunts. "It's nothing!" For a dwarf, he can book it.

"...You're right. They're batshit psychotic." Daichi comments.

"Wait!" Lloyd attempts to run after Altessa, but Tabatha stands in his way. Lloyd tries to move about her, and she moves there too.

"THE MASTER BELIEVES THAT IT IS HIS FAULT THAT OZETTE WAS DESTROYED." Tabatha says.

"Because of his involvement?" Shikka asks.

"Altessa is connected to Ozette?" Colette tilts her head. Tabatha looked between both of them.

"YES." She says to both. "EXCUSE ME. I AM WORRIED ABOUT THE MASTER." She then leaves.

"That doll is still a bit spooky..." Daichi mumbles.

"I'm..." Presea blinks a few times, before looking at the adults + Lloyd. "I'm going to follow him."

"Yeah." Lloyd shoves his hands in his pockets. "Mithos, you should come with us." Mithos blinked as Lloyd gave him the Blinding Reassuring Grin.

"But I'm a half-elf and..." Mithos protests. Lloyd grabs him in a half-hug, and traps him.

"And that doesn't matter." Lloyd messes with the half elf's hair.

"Yeah. And if big, scary Lloyd threatens you, I'll chase him off." Daichi says, messing up Lloyd's hair even more. Lloyd sticks his tongue out at Daichi. Genis tackles Lloyd, hitting him low, and knocks him off the slightly tense Mithos. Lloyd falls, laughing, and it turns into a mock wrestle match. Daichi stands beside Mithos, frowning. Raine lets them for minute or so, before she breaks them up with some whacks.

"Besides." Lloyd sits up, grinning. "What're you gonna to do if you stay here and the angels come back?"

"Let's all go together!" Genis grins as well, offering his hand to Mithos. Mithos is startled.

"Yeah. We won't hurt you." Piers has wandered over. Mithos takes Genis' hand with a hesitant smile, but Genis beams. Lloyd's already starting to wander for Altessa's house. Daichi smiles warmly at the two.

"Looks like Genis made a new best buddy." He says teasingly to Lloyd.

"Good." Lloyd grins. "Genis needs more friends." He's a little set on finding out what caused Altessa to freak out. Genis is chattering to Mithos, pointing out people and naming them.

Daichi, although his attempt to take a playful jab at Lloyd fails, says. "He needs more his own age." Daichi's smile is slightly envious. "I know what it's like to be raised and surrounded by guys much older all the time."

"Don't really know the feeling." Lloyd looks about at the forest. Other than Ozette, it seems untouched. "I was oldest at the school. And the outsider." Lloyd pauses. "... so maybe I do."

"I'm sure we all feel it at some point." Piers says.

And so they head to the dwarf's cliffside dwelling. Tabatha opens the door for them, and the long table, which had held all sorts of junk their previous visit, was cleared. Altessa sat at the head, and low benches were placed all about ready for them.

"It's like he knew we were coming." Daichi comments lowly.

"Lloyd did try chasing him." Sheena points out, taking a seat. Lloyd plunks himself down a little to Altessa's right, and leaves the rest to fill in wherever they want. The others do indeed fill out where there is space, sitting quiet for once. Piers and Daichi have separated themselves so they are not tempted to make stupid comments. Genis pulls Mithos to sit next to him, and Aurian has put herself as far away as possible from Mithos. There's a moment of awkward silence.

"...I was a craftsman who worked for The Cruxis." Altessa breaks the silence.

"So you're on the side of the angels..." Lloyd climbs over his shock first. "of Yggdrasill!"

"Lloyd, if he works for Cruxis, wouldn't you have thought there would have been a trap set for us?" Daichi comments. "Especially since he knew we were coming and all."

Lloyd makes a face at Daichi. "How do you know there ISN'T a trap?"

"You know Lord Yggdrasill?" Altessa blinks.

"I'm sure we would have fallen in it by now." Piers comments. "Because you're not the most observant, or the most subtle, of people."

"What with the red and all." Genis adds.

"Why does everyone comment on the red." Lloyd then switches to talking to Altessa. "Know him? Because of him, Sylvarant and Tethe'Alla were twisted into worlds that fight for each other's Mana!"

"And nearly made Lloyd into a permanent fixture in the Tower of Salvation." Piers points out.

"Gee, thanks for reminding my ribs." Lloyd grumbles. Altessa blinks at the lot of them.

"That's a Cruxis Crystal.." Colette blinks as Altessa looks at her necklace. "...I see. You must be the Chosen of the declining world. This may be fate." Altessa deflates a little. "What happened to Ozette was my fault..."

"How so, Sir Altessa?" Shikka asks, watching the dwarf.

"What... do you mean...?" Presea tilts her head.

Altessa looks at his hands. "I came to hate the work I did, for it was indirectly taking people's lives. I ran from The Cruxis and had myself in Ozette. But I was found by a Desian named Rodyle. He ordered me to create a Cruxis Crystal in exchange for my life."

"Lord Rodyle..." Daichi mumbles. Genis whacks Daichi.

"So that means that the research on Presea was organized by Rodyle and the Pope, who then had you and Kate carry it out?" Zelos asks.

"Ow! What was that for?" Daichi grumbles.

"You called him a lord again. Remember. Creeper, asshat, freakface." Genis tells him.

"...Right. Rodyle, while a Desian in service of The Cruxis, was also planning to revolt against Cruxis." Altessa continues over this mini conversation. "Because I supported him it that...Lord Yggdrasill grew angry and he... He destroyed the town of Ozette, which had protected me!"

"But...But...Altessa calls him Lord Yggdrasill and gets away with it." Daichi grumbles.

"Because Yggdrasill nearly killed Lloyd." Genis says it like it's actually something amazing. "He's really strong, so, it's okay to respect him. As long as you still kick his ass." Raine whacks him.

"So this is how Presea...this girl who reflects my distant memories..." Regal mutters. "...This is how she was caught up in this... This is terrible beyond words." Piers and Daichi stare blankly at Regal. Zelos and Lloyd join in. Regal stares blankly back.

"I'm sorry. I can never apologize enough, but...apologizing is all I can do now." Altessa says to Presea.

"...My time...will not come back." Presea says. "...The people of the village and Daddy will not come back."

"The best thing we can do right now is fight in their memory." Daichi comments.

"Yeah! That way, their deaths will be avenged and wouldn't have been in vain." Piers adds.

"We carry their pride on our shoulders. We who have chosen the path to defeat the unjust..." Shikka adds. Everyone stares at them.

"I think you just beat Lloyd on cornyness." Sheena says. Daichi turns a light shade of pink, Piers just stares blankly and Shikka looks unfazed.

"I'm sorry." Altessa says to Presea. Presea blinks a few times, then turns a little so she's not facing Altessa.

"...Don't apologize. Even if you apologize...I can't forgive you right now." Presea says. Altessa nods, and leaves the table. Daichi slumps slightly and tries to leave the table.

"I need some air." He uses the excuse. Aurian grabs onto him and follows.

"PRESEA...I BELIEVE YOUR LOSS HAS BEEN GREAT. BUT PLEASE, DO NOT LOSE YOURSELF AS WELL." Tabatha follows the dwarf. Daichi blinks, but takes the elf outside. Aurian flops into the ground outside and holds her head. It's a bit clear she's terrified of something inside. Everyone inside blinks a little.

"Weird." Raine frowns a little.

"I...can understand Presea's feelings a little. Some things...never came back... Even if he apologizes...even if you want to forgive, you can't control those feelings." Mithos says. Daichi sits on a rock nearby, not close enough to Aurian to potentially stress her out more.

"Wow, Mithos...That was quite deep..." Piers comments.

"Not being forgiven...that may be punishment." Regal says.

"...I don't think that's right." Lloyd frowns. "Forgiving or not forgiving isn't a punishment... I can't really explain it well, but..." Daichi pulls out a flask, taking a drink from it and wincing. He keeps an eye on Aurian, not interfering, however. He rubs the ornate flask with a finger.

"Ah, well, anyway, let's not get into a philosophical discussion right now." Zelos waves the topic away. "Presea doesn't need to force herself to forgive him or anything. Let's just think about what we can do now."

"Yes, you're right. As for me, I think we should take this opportunity to ask Altessa all he knows about The Cruxis. We currently don't have enough information." Raine says. "Wouldn't you agree?"

"That's a good plan." Piers agrees.

"So..." Lloyd hops off the table, and follows Altessa.

"Should we check on Aur' and seaweed?" Zelos drawls as he follows.

Piers whacks Zelos. "It's Daichi." He states.

"Yeah, yeah, Daichi. Whatever. Point is, should we check on them?" Zelos absently rubs where Piers whacked him.

"Well...There's the risk that lady Aurian will harm Sir Daichi." Shikka points out.

"... Am I speaking a different language here?" Zelos frowns. "That would be why we'd check on them, right? It's not like I'm expecting he'd try to make any moves on Ms Elf."

"Sure." Lloyd turns about and heads to the main door. Piers has followed Raine and Shikka has decided to curl up by the fire. This leaves any other party members to go outside and check on Daichi and Aurian.

"Wait until we're all there to get to really interesting stuff!" Lloyd calls to Raine, who sighs and nods. Aurian's still curled up in a ball a few feet from the door. Mithos tags along with Genis with Lloyd. Daichi looks up as Genis, Lloyd, Zelos and Mithos appear, as well as whoever else that decided to tag along.

"Everything okay?" Lloyd asks. Mithos is peering curiously at Aurian from the other side of Genis. Aurian started shaking a bit more as the four of them step outside. Daichi's eyes lock onto Mithos and back down to Aurian.

The man frowns slightly, but it soon disappears. "Yeah...I'm leaving her alone. She might freak out more if I try to do anything."

"Is she an elf?" Mithos asks, wonderingly.

"Yep. Ms Elf is an Elf." Zelos nods, but he looks a little worried.

"Hey, Aurian, you okay?" Lloyd crouches next to her.

"Scared." Aurian mumbles.

"Why are you scared?" Daichi asks, standing and walking closer.

"Angels." Aurian covers her face best she can with her arms. "Mana. Angels everywhere."

"Oh." Lloyd blinks.

"..." Daichi takes a few more steps back. "I guess I'm not helping at all, huh..."

Lloyd gave him a grin. "Maybe you should swap with Sheena."

"Hey, Mithos, why don't we go inside." Genis says to his new friend, who he had yet to let go off.

"Oh, okay." So the two young half-elves go inside.

Daichi nods. "Good idea." He says, following Genis and Mithos inside, detouring around Aurian.

Lloyd blinks as Aurian's shakes calm down as Mithos went back in. "... huh." Daichi stares at Mithos' back for a few seconds.

"Maybe because the Blondie," It seems that Zelos had picked a nickname for Mithos, "was in the middle of an angel attack, he's got their Mana on him?"

"... Maybe." Lloyd frowns as Aurian doesn't completely calm down. Daichi half-listens to Raine and Piers grilling Altessa, lying on his back, staring at the ceiling. Sheena comes out to sit with Aurian, after extracting a promise from Lloyd and Zelos to get what they were talking about. So Lloyd and the Tethe'Allan chosen return, and Altessa takes his seat at the table for the larger description of things. Daichi and Shikka resume their seats, listening.

"...The Cruxis is an organization made up almost entirely of half-elves. There are a large number of dwarves besides me involved as well." Altessa says.

"So there are other dwarves besides you and my Dad?" Lloyd asks.

Altessa ignores Lloyd's question to continue talking. "Their objectives are to begin the Age of Half-elves and the revival of Martel. For that purpose, they make use of the Church of Martel and try to fuse the Chosen with Martel's consciousness."

"But if that's true, why do the Desians try to kill the Chosen?" Genis frowns.

"We never tried to kill the Chosen." Daichi says.

"Magnius did." Genis mutters.

"Exspheres and Cruxis Crystals awaken when stimulated by people's fear and suffering. Also by their combat instincts. That is why the Desians disrupt the declining world." Altessa explains. "In order to facilitate the angel transformation, they deliberately put the Chosen in danger."

"Lord Magnius is a bit of a crackhead." Daichi comments. "And we never aimed to _kill_. Just harm." Genis whacks Daichi with a pointed look.

"And dead." Lloyd says smugly.

"Rodyle...what is he scheming?" Regal asks.

"The revival of the Mana Cannon." Altessa says. "He obtained the plans to the Mana Cannon somehow and is constructing it in Sylvarant. He's also the master of his own ranch. It's likely he's using his captives in the construction of the cannon. Once it's complete, he probably intends to build his own empire."

Daichi rubs the back of his head. "You Sages are weird. I have one encouraging me to be crude and one not to be..." He says, rather mournfully.

"I'm encouraging you to not respect the Desian cardinals." Genis corrects him. "Whether you call them crack heads or asshats is your problem." He gets a light cuff on the head from his sister.

"How can he make everyone suffer for such a thing...?" Presea mutters.

"Then, is it true that Lo...I mean Yggdrasill made the two worlds, then?" Daichi asks.

"Well, that's how I heard it." Altessa says. "That he anchored the two worlds, which are never to come in contact, via four Mana links, and placed the Great Seed in the center between them to guard it."

"The Great Seed?" Lloyd asks blankly. "Where have I heard that before...?" He looks thoughtful.

Piers frowns slightly. "I know what you mean."

"It comes up in the stories of the hero, Mithos." Mithos says. "That's what people called the soul of Mithos, who died on the Holy Ground of Kharlan after the close of the Ancient War."

Piers clicks his fingers. "Yes! The Professor told us about them before we left."

Genis frowns. "... Wait a minute. That's true, but..." He stands up. "Why does the same legend of Mithos from Sylvarant also exist over here? I've been wondering about this for a while now. There are two Holy Grounds of Kharlan, two Towers of Salvation, and now the legend of Mithos is the same, too?" Piers looks at Genis, smiling lightly.

"It seems it's possible to travel between the two worlds at their poles. I don't know where those poles would be, but perhaps that person we know as Mithos used that to travel between the worlds?" Altessa offers.

"...Bipolar..." Raine mutters. "Yes... that's it..."

"Professor?" Zelos looks vaguely worried. "What is it?" Daichi looks slightly worried at the word "Bipolar." As does Genis and Lloyd.

"This is my theory." Raine ignores these looks. "Perhaps the Ancient War was in fact a war between Tethe'Alla and Sylvarant, and the hero Mithos arranged the truce that ended the war."

"And so that would be why the legend of Mithos exists in both worlds!" Lloyd grins as he gets it.

"That would make sense." Piers concedes.

"Yes." Raine agrees. "And if we assume that one of the two poles is the Holy Ground of Kharlan, then we can understand the meaning of the existence of two Holy Grounds. That's the door between the two worlds."

Daichi raises his hand. "What if they're both the same world, but separated?" Everyone stares at him.

"That sounds a little more insane than us simply going against a god." Zelos says.

Daichi lowers his hand. "Never mind, then." He says, sulkily.

"Yes, Raine's theory makes sense." Regal nods, going back to the previous topic. "I've heard many ideas regarding the bipolar structure of the worlds, but yours works from a logical standpoint." Daichi, again, looks scared at the word 'bipolar'.

"What other ideas have there been?" Raine asks.

"There is a legend passed down in Altamira about something called the Otherworldly Gate." Regal explains. "Some say that, that is a pole."

"The Otherworldly Gate... " Raine mutters. Daichi and the other Sylvaranti stare blankly at Regal, obviously wanting more explanation.

"It is a ruin, on an island, near Altamira." Regal explains it a little. "I'm afraid that is all I know."

"So what is the Great Seed?" Colette asks.

"It's a giant seed, what else?" Daichi still seems miffed that his idea was snubbed.

"I don't know that either." Altessa sighs. "But Lord Yggdrasill said that it was more important than his life." Lloyd stares blankly, his thought process obviously shorted.

The twinblade spazzes, grabbing his head. "...I can't wrap my head around all this stuff at once..."

"You were the one that wanted to know." Piers points out. "Stop moaning."

"I'm not moaning!" Lloyd protest. "No~w I'm moaning!" Lloyd imitates Zelos's protesting voice. Genis snickers. Daichi smirks also.

"You all must be tired by now. Why don't you rest here for the night?" Altessa offers. The dwarf turns to Mithos. "Mithos...Right?" Mithos nods a little hesitantly. "If you don't have anywhere else to go, you should stay here at my place for a while."

"Are you sure that's okay?" Mithos asks, looking startled. "I'm a half-elf..."

"A dwarf took Lloyd in. I'm sure it'll be fine." Piers says jovially.

"Why does that sound like an insult?" Lloyd asks, his expression flat-lined.

"The only ones living here are Tabatha, who I made, and me, a dwarf." Altessa says.

"You made Tabatha?" Colette tilts her head, confused.

Piers grabs Lloyd around the shoulders and goes. "Because it is, bud." He says, imitating Zelos' pet name for him.

Lloyd, still with his flat-lined expression, puts his hand in Piers' face. "Get off."

"Yes. Tabatha is an automated doll. So having a half-elf here isn't a problem at all." Altessa explains. Piers flails back, but still smirks.

"Tabatha is a...doll..." Colette seems confused.

"...Okay." Mithos agrees to stay with Altessa.

"We'll stay here for the night, too." Lloyd decides, before blinking at Presea. "Is that okay with you?"

"...Please don't worry about me." Presea says.

"THEN I SHALL PREPARE DINNER." Tabatha turns and leaves to the kitchen.

"Then tonight, Genis and Raine will be here, too, right?" Mithos asks.

"Yeah! Let's play together! ...You're the first half-elf friend I've had!" Genis cheers.

"Hey! I take offense to that!" Daichi protests.

Genis turns to blink up at Daichi. "First half-elf friend my age." He corrects. ".. and size."

Daichi folds his arms. "That's better."

Genis made a face at him, then turned to Mithos. "You know what's really fun?" Mithos shakes his head, and Genis leans in to whisper, occasionally glancing at Daichi. Daichi frowns at this, starting to edge away. Mithos and Genis share grins, and then both small half elves jump at Daichi. Daichi yells and runs. Both preteen's chase him. Eventually, Genis catches onto one leg, and Mithos the other. Daichi doesn't seem hindered. They then climb to both hang from his neck, and then up to his shoulders. There are giggles.

Daichi stops. "Dammit..."

"Friends?" Mithos asks.

"Of course!" Genis cheers.

"Thank you!" Mithos beams. They stay on Daichi's shoulders.

"So no-one wants to be my friend?" Daichi grumbles.

"Of course we do!" Genis cheers.

"Y-yeah!" Mithos agrees. They hug Daichi's head, effectively blinding him.

Daichi freezes. "Don't break the glasses."

"Oh, sorry!" Mithos pulls back, and Genis kidnaps his glasses.

"Hey! I kinda need those to see."

"Fiiiine." Genis puts them back on Daichi.

"They're upside-down."

"No they aren't." Genis and Mithos flee from Daichi, giggling like the preteen boys they were. Daichi mumbles, adjusting his glasses.


	50. Gate

April 15th

* * *

Colette shakes Lloyd awake. "Wake up! Lloyd! Wake up! The Professor's gone!"

Lloyd blinks awake. "Wh...what?" He staggers awake and redresses, heading into the main room of Altessa's house. Everyone, minus Raine, is sort of standing or sitting about. Zelos looks half awake as he fixes his hair, and Aurian's curled next to the fireplace, trying to cling to sleep. Daichi sleepily stumbles past the fireplace. Aurian sleepily grabs onto one of his legs.

"What are we talking about?" Lloyd rubs the last of sleep from his eyes.

"It seems Raine left a note saying she had something she wanted to investigate and left." Genis waves a piece of paper.

Daichi stops, staring down at the elf. "I have an elf on me." Aurian curls up, trying to steal his warmth.

"...So you do." Sheena yawns.

"SHORTLY BEFORE DAWN, I SAW A RHEAIRD HEADED SOUTH. PERHAPS THAT WAS RAINE." Tabatha says. Daichi stares at Aurian, trying to gently shake her off. The elf mumbles, trying to keep her grip, as she's more than half asleep.

"Now that you mention it, Her Highness was acting just a bit strange yesterday. She was going on and on about the Otherworldly Gate." Zelos says, pulling his headband down then into place.

Piers looks to Genis. "Have you heard the professor talk about the Otherworldly Gate before?"

"Last night, when we found out about it." Genis looks depressed, worried, and frantic all at the same time.

Piers frowns. "Then why would she go there without telling us?"

Daichi grumbles a response, still trying to gently pry Aurian from his leg. "Don't make sense."

"She left a note." Zelos reminds them, looking it over. "Although, it really just says she needs to look at something."

"I'm worried about her being by herself." Genis says, looking like he's debating making a break for outside with his Rheaird capsule.

"Genis, if you're going to go, no-one's stopping you." Piers says. He walks over, placing a hand on the young mage's shoulder. "But I'm coming with you."

"We all are." Lloyd agrees. "It's not good for us to be separated right now."

"Ah...um..." Mithos shifts shyly. "Will you take me with you?"

Genis blinks from grinning at Piers. "What are you talking about? It's dangerous."

"I know that, but I'm worried about her. There are monsters all over Tethe'Alla right now. This is the first time I've met another half-elf besides me, so... I want her to be ok." Mithos explains shyly.

Piers smiles at Mithos, then back at Genis. "We're in this for the long haul."

"Will someone get Aur' offa me..." Daichi grumbles as Regal hands him a mug of coffee. Colette blinks and aids him in removing the clingy elf. Aurian grabs onto the Chosen, but blinks more awake and looks rather embarrassed.

"You can share a Rheaird with Genis." Lloyd agrees.

Mithos blinks, looking startled, before beaming, although a bit hesitantly. "Thank you, Lloyd!"

"Don't worry about it. Any friend of Genis is a friend of mine." Daichi mumbles something about not wanting to wake her properly to find him being forceful and, potentially, a threat to her. He drinks his coffee in an attempt to wake. Colette nods and smiles, as everyone makes a hurried breakfast and a lunch-to-go. Aurian doesn't seem to recall having clung to Daichi, by how confused she looks. Which is good. The half elf is soon back to his normal, if slightly disgruntled self. They all climb onto Rheairds.

"Wait." Altessa hobbles out. "This is for Presea..."

"A key crest..." Lloyd blinks, peering at it.

"..It's hardly enough to call it an apology, but I went ahead and made one. It will be more reliable than that make shift one she has now." Altessa holds a better crafted Key Crest, as Lloyd's is rather rough and kinda ugly looking. Piers and Daichi look to Presea and back to Altessa. Presea blinks. Lloyd glances at her.

"I'd accept it." Lloyd says.

"O...okay..." Presea hops off her Rheaird, and Altessa helps her swap out Key Crests. They then get back to taking off.

Daichi is glowering. "At least now Raine can't tell us off for wandering."

"Yeah." Lloyd grins a little, but it fades into seriousness. Mostly because the flight to Altamira, because the map doesn't have Otherworldly Gate on it, and none of the Tethe'Allan's know where it is, and there are a lot of rock formations on islands nearby, takes them two days while they search a bit for the professor from air.

* * *

April 16th

* * *

"She could be back at Altessa's by now!" Piers grumbles.

"We would have seen a Rheaird unless the Professor was flying much higher than we were, walking, or going far out of her way." Presea says. "The chances of that are in the single digit percentile." Altamira didn't really have a gate, but Regal stopped at the entrance all the same.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to wait here."

Daichi frowns. "Why?"

"What's up?" Lloyd also wants to know. Regal stares blankly at them all. Daichi and Piers give equally blank stares.

"Won't say why, huh? Well, if you don't want to talk about it, that's your business." Zelos sounds a bit annoyed about it, though. "Lloyd, let him do what he wants."

"Can make him stay." Aurian mumbles, still looking rather nervous.

"That'd attract more attention than his shackles." Sheena points out. Daichi shrugs, turning. Piers stares a few moments. Regal continues to stare back.

"All right." Lloyd waves, turning to start into Altamira. "We'll catch you on the way out." Regal nods, and sits off to one side of the path in. Asking several people about Raine as they headed in, Lloyd's having no luck, and same with everyone else. Piers follows eventually, tagging along with Lloyd. Almost to the other side of the main part of town, they find a grave, and an old man.

"Hey, sorry to bother, but have you seen a woman with hair like his and in an orange coat?" Lloyd asks, pointing at Genis' head.

"...Alicia! Is it really you?" The man had been about to reply, when he spotted Presea. Genis looks most displeased.

"You..."Presea tilts her head. "know Alicia?"

The elderly man blinks. "What?" He seems to realize that she isn't Alicia. "Wait, then who...?"

"Alicia is my... sister." Presea says.

"Ohhh..." the man nods slowly. "I see. Ah, of course..." He glances back at what looks like a memorial grave. "Alicia passed away quite some time ago. She couldn't possibly be standing here, now." Daichi is staring at the grave, tilting his head. There's a lot of names on it, alphabetical by last name.

"...Passed away?" Presea asks.

"What happened?" Lloyd asks.

"Alicia came to work in the service of the noble Bryant family, but she was caught up in an unfortunate incident that resulted in her death." The old man says.

Piers walks up and Daichi's eyes lock onto a name. "Alicia Combatir." He says.

"She died?" Colette asks, looking somewhere near worried. "How?"

"I dare not speak of the details. Please forgive me. Alicia's grave lies in the Sky Terrace of the Lezareno Company headquarters. Please stop by there if you have the time. Alicia would surely be pleased to receive a visit from her younger sister. If you show this to the receptionists, they should let you through." the elderly man hands Lloyd a tag, then walks off.

"... George." Lloyd reads off it.

"...George?" Daichi looks over Lloyd's shoulder.

"Says he's... uh." Lloyd tilts it for Genis to read.

"He's basically the president of the Lezareno company. Acting, I think." Genis explains.

"... so, I guess we can go there..." Lloyd nods.

"Younger sister? I thought Presea was the older one." Genis frowns as he remembers what the now George had said.

"Maybe you just got confused. Or George did." Piers offers.

"I think George did." Zelos nods. "Presea said she had a younger sister..."

"Oh, I know!" Colette claps her hands. "Maybe there are three sisters in all!"

"Oh, come on..." Zelos seems to realize that Colette is an airhead on some days.

Daichi pats Colette's shoulder. "Try not to think too much." Zelos leads them to this tram, which they take to the Lezareno Company Headquarters. Looking about, Lloyd spotted the elevators, and headed to them.

"I'm sorry, but may I ask your reason for visiting our company today?" A guard manages not to intimidatingly block Lloyd's way, but politely.

Lloyd fishes out the tag. "We want to go to the Sky Terrace."

Piers shoves Lloyd out of the way. "We would like to go to the Sky Terrace, please." Piers says, a little more politely.

"This is George's!" The guard had looked at the tag Lloyd had pulled out. "... My deepest apologies. Please, go on inside." He steps out of their way. They manage to cram into the elevator. Aurian does not look pleased. Especially since Daichi is next to her. The half-elf looks uncomfortable. The elevator ride isn't long, and Aurian manages to be the first out into a rooftop garden. There's even a water fountain, which moats another area with a gravestone.

"Alicia..." Presea heads over to it. "What happened to you?"

"...What's this?" Mithos points at a glowing rock.

Daichi's eyes lock on the gem. "Hey. An Exsphere." He points out.

"Why's there an Exsphere embedded in a grave?" Lloyd blinks a few times.

"Why is there an Exsphere..." A couple flickers of light, and a pinkette with shorter hair appears. The grave can be seen through her, and she actually looks a little older than Presea is.

"Presea... sis!" The ghost says, happy.

Daichi double-takes, blinking. "I've only heard about this."

"It's you, isn't it?" The ghost asks.

"Alicia?" Presea is startled.

"Look!" Colette is weirdly thrilled.

"I'm so happy I can see you again before I disappear..." Alicia smiles. Aurian looks vaguely traumatized, and is inching to hide behind Shikka.

"What's going on?" Presea asks. "A-are you still alive?" Shikka edges to stand in front of Aurian.

Daichi shakes his head. "Kind of. There are rare occasions where a soul can live on." Everyone stares at Daichi.

"... So that explains the voice!" Lloyd hits his fist into his palm, grinning.

"I... I only exist in the Exsphere." Alicia half agrees with Daichi. "Soon, even my consciousness will be gone. The Exsphere killed my body and absorbed my consciousness." And then she explains it.

Everyone then stares at Lloyd. "...What voice?" Daichi asks hesitantly.

"A woman's voice." Lloyd crosses his arms. "When I'm really tired, or really freaking out." He looks like he's going to turn pink any minute now. Daichi looks as though he understands. Zelos coughs to break the awkward moment.

Presea turns back to her sister. "...I can't believe you've become a victim of the Exsphere as well..." Presea mutters.

"Presea, please grant me my request. Before I disappear...please find my master." Alicia pleads. "Please find Master Bryant!"

"A first name would be a help." Piers prompts.

"Byrant?" Presea blinks. "the noble you went to serve?"

Alicia gives Piers a blank look. "Yes." Alicia nods. "By killing me, he..." Alicia vanished.

"..."

Everyone looks to Piers now. "What? It would!"

"Alicia!" Presea grabs onto the grave. "He killed you? Please, tell me what happened!" It may be the most emotion out of the pinkette.

"...Please..." Alicia's voice drifts weakly. "Presea..." There's nothing more.

Daichi blinks. "Uh oh."

"Lloyd, please, help me find Alicia's killer." Presea says.

"... Of course." Lloyd pats her head. "We'll beat this Bryant guy to a pulp and drag him back here."

"Yeah!" Genis agrees, flushing as he talks to his crush. "I won't let him get away with killing your sister!"

"You guys are even more bloodthirsty than me." Daichi comments.

"I said 'beat to pulp and drag back', not mutilate, castrate, maim and kill." Lloyd points out, walking for the elevator. Mithos is staring at the grave.

"What's wrong?" Genis asks.

"... Exsphere's are terrible things, aren't they...?"

"You forgot violate if it's a female." Daichi points out. "But close." Aurian throws Zelos at Daichi.

Daichi yelps, knocked over by the flying Chosen. "Nng...That was careless of me..." Zelos whines.

"Yeah..." Genis agrees with what Mithos said. Sheena puts herself between Aurian and Daichi, as the elf is looking rather like an angry cat, and glaring at the half-elf.

"Let's go." Lloyd starts the escape down the elevator, grabbing Aurian with him. They can take two trips, for everyone's safety, and end up leaving Daichi and Zelos up on the roof. Daichi shoves Zelos off of him.

"Right. I'm an idiot." Daichi grumbles.

"Not arguin' with ya there." Zelos rubs his head as he gets to his feet.

Daichi head-walls while waiting for the elevator. "You okay?" He asks Zelos.

"Yeah." Zelos shrugs, despite clearly forming a black eye and a scalp wound staining his white headband.

"You're a bad liar, Wilder." He starts glowing. "_First Aid_." He casts a weak minty glow at him.

Zelos blinks, and touches the blood trying to run down his face. "... Huh. Ms Elf can throw." He glanced at Daichi. "You do know I can heal, right?"

Daichi seems to be concentrating, managing to at least seal the wound. "Yeah. But it's my fault."

Zelos just sort of stares at him, before giving a weakly crooked smirk. "You said it, not me, but I'm agreein'." Zelos says. Daichi is panting slightly.

"You okay?" Piers asks.

"Fine. Never... Better."

"I think you're a worse liar." Zelos comments, as the elevator shows back up.

Daichi chuckles slightly. "I'll be fine."

"With a bit of rest, or a gel, probably." Zelos says, leaning against the wall of the elevator.

And Daichi does the same. "I'll live with it. Dealt with worse than a bit of exhaustion."

By the time the three get to the bottom floor, Lloyd, and Mithos, have found out where Raine went. Apparently, It's east, and because it's a full moon, if they go there tonight, they'll be sent to Sylvarant.

"Now we know where to go." Lloyd grins.

"We get to go back to Sylvarant?" Daichi asks.

"It's a legend, it might not be true." Genis says. "But, possibly."

"Let's go pick Regal up, then find the Professor." Lloyd heads to the tram.

"Legends keep proving to be true." Piers comments.

"Yeah, well." Lloyd scratches his nose. "We can hit up shops, make sure we've got a lot of supplies, then." They gather in the tram to go back to main Altamira.

Daichi flops against the tram seat. "I'll go shop for gels."

"Okay. Food." Lloyd waves his hands.

"And I'll go make sure he gets everything." Genis adds. Piers decides to tag along with Daichi and Shikka goes with Lloyd and Genis. Aurian mumbles a little, looking a bit grumpy, as she gives Daichi the angry kitty glare, and she heads off to the exit. Mithos follows Genis as well. Daichi sighs. He and Piers head off to buy the healing equipment. Shikka tags with Lloyd, silently. And so they fill their packs with all sorts of Tethe'Allan goodies, and meet up back by Regal, who is just sitting there, still. Aurian's sprawled on the sun a few feet away. Daichi is rubbing his cheek, which is slightly red, glaring at Piers. Piers looks apologetic. Regal looks vaguely confused, and Aurian looks asleep. Lloyd looks like he hasn't noticed anything weird like that going on, and Genis is already fishing for his Rheaird capsule so they can head after Raine, as it was getting dusk-y out. Daichi scowls, pulling his Rheaird capsule out, taking his hand from his cheek. The mark resembles a palm-print.

Genis blinks at him. "Do I even want to know?"

"Done?" Regal asks, standing.

"Yeah." Lloyd shrugs, pulling his capsule out too.

Piers waves his hands hurriedly. "It was a misunderstanding."

"Yeah. Because of you." Daichi growls back.

"I'm thinking I really don't wanna know now." Genis says.

"Wonderboy here slipped on a gel and knocked into a woman. She thought it was me and slapped me." Daichi explains curtly, climbing on his Rheaird. "Can we go, please? Now?"

"Oh. Not as bad as I thought." Genis climbs on his Rheaird, and Lloyd nudges Aurian awake. They head out on their directions. It takes them 'till night to get to the right isle.

Shikka jumps off his Rheaird, yawns and stretches, cat-like. Daichi does the same, looking about for signs of Raine.

"Professor!" Lloyd goes for the blunt way. Raine's head comes from about one of the large, rounded, carved rocks, and Lloyds starts off that way. Aurian seems a little twitchy. Piers and Genis are hot on Lloyd's trail, with Mithos no doubt following Genis. Daichi and Shikka follow at a more sedate distance. Regal tags along, and Presea is calmly stalking Lloyd, with Colette managing not to trip on her way after. Aurian looks uncomfortable, and is half attached to Sheena now, and Zelos is taking in the scenery in the light moonlight.

"Everyone!" Raine blinks at them. "Why are you all here?"

"Why do you think we're here?" Genis demands. "We were worried about you!" He passes Lloyd to glomp his sister.

Daichi smiles lightly. "Yeah. Just what do you think you were playing at, wandering off like that?"

Raine gives him the look that says 'I saw where you were going with that.' "I left a note." She tells him.

"It's dangerous to come here alone." Mithos says. "As a fellow half-elf, I can't just leave you here by yourself."

"Why did you come to this place?" Colette asks.

"I'm curious to that one, as well." Piers states.

Raine looks at them all, and then turns back about to the stones. "... This is where Genis and I were abandoned." Cue a partywide blink.

"What are you talking about?" Lloyd looks confused. "You two are from Sylvarant..."

"Unless that was a cover story." Piers explains. "Along with the elf explanation."

"...Yes." Raine shifts a little. "I happened to catch sight of this place when we rescued Colette and it's been on my mind ever since. Then, when I heard the story about the two poles which connect the two worlds, I became certain. The images in my memory...the ruin I've been searching for all this time is this place."

"So you were abandoned here? Who by?" Daichi asks.

"Our mother." Raine isn't facing them, so they can't see her expression.

"It can't be!" Genis protests. "All my memories are of Iselia! I don't know this place at all."

"...We were born and raised in the village of the elves, from which we were eventually ostracized. We were abandoned here because this place was said to be the path to the legendary Sylvarant." Raine says.

"The village of the elves? The secret village said to be off-limits to anyone except Elven kind?" Mithos blinks.

"Makes sense. In a brutal sort of way..." Piers mumbles.

Daichi looks at Mithos. "So those legends are true, too?"

"The green knights wanted to send me to 'Ymir'." Aurian mutters. "Is 'Ymir' the village?"

"I... I guess." Mithos shrugs.

"Yes. I don't know the details of what happened, but I'm positive that I was left here along with Genis when he was just a newborn." Raine looks at all the stones, then turns around. "And we eventually ended up in Sylvarant."

"Do you have any idea how it happened, professor?" Piers asks, looking at the stones also.

"No." Raine says, and looks like she's about to say more, when a vaguely familiar voice calls out.

"Then this time, let me send you to hell instead!" First blink goes to 'Who uses 'hell',' then to the fact that someone was threatening them.

"Who's there?" Lloyd spins about and shouts. Piers draws an axe he bought in Altamira. Its nothing like Daichi's and Presea's. Its more streamlined. Daichi whirls also. It's the Red Ninja!

"Kuchinawa! What are you talking about?" Sheena is confused.

"My chance to avenge my parents' deaths has finally arrived." Kuchinawa says. A large amount of papal Knights show up.

Daichi sighs. "Why is it always the guys in red that cause problems?" For some reason, this seems to have been directed at Lloyd.

"What did I do?" Lloyd demands. "I swear, Sheena's the first ninja I've seen!"

"...Avenge your parents?" Sheena asks, confusedly.

"Correct." Kuchinawa says. "You will die for killing my parents along with countless others of our village when you failed to control Volt."

"Grudge, much. How about Sheena shows you what Volt's true power is like?" Piers says.

Sheena's not thinking those thoughts, because Kuchinawa was one of the Mizuhoan's she called 'friend'. "Wh...what?"

"That was an accident!" Lloyd shouts. "Why are you doing this now?"

"Accident?" Kuchinawa scoffs. "I could have accepted things if she just failed to make a pact with a Summon Spirit. But then, she failed to assassinate the Chosen of Sylvarant, thereby placing Mizuho in danger. Yet look at her now. She's made pacts with Summon Spirits just like that."

"You have it all wrong!" Colette shouts.

"Do I?" Kuchinawa retorts. "I think she wasn't really trying during the first pact-making! Because of that, she killed my parents and our people."

"I did the best I could!" Sheena shouts. "I..."

"Enough excuses!" Kuchinawa yells, gesturing. For some reason, the Papal knights are stupid enough to only send six down to the group. Piers casts _Diamond Dust_ on a knight while Daichi runs in and decapitates him. Genis starts up _Indignation_ by the glow about him and his chant, and Aurian's slowly building up one of her double-element spells, something light and earth. Mithos is hiding behind one of the rocks, as he doesn't fight, and Raine is standing near him and chanting for _Holy_ _Lance_. Lloyd's being the little flea he is, and bouncing and slashing all over. Daichi runs into a pair of knights and starts attacking with a mix of Strike Artes and axe-swings. Like the last time they ran into knights, the small amount of them didn't do much. So then the entire legion moved closer.

"... I think this is a 'crap' moment." Lloyd says, looking about.

"I have a few stronger words." Daichi says, throwing a few dismembered corpses at the legion, aiming to lower their morale.

"Kuchinawa!" Sheena shouts. "Please! Don't drag them into this! I'm the one you despise right? Then I'm the only one you need to kill!"

"Sheena, stop talking like that!" Lloyd's got that look that says 'I may whack you if you don't'.

"It's okay. Kuchinawa... Please!" Sheena brushes Lloyd off.

"I think he's beyond bargaining." Piers comments.

As if just to spite Piers, Kuchinawa says, "Fine." the Papal knights split a little, allowing Sheena to move forward. As she starts walking, the moon starts to glow brighter, a beam moving for the ruins.

"... You've got to be kiddin' me!" Zelos groans. "Enough of this, Sheena!" The Tethe'Allan chosen throws Sheena over his shoulder.

"Ahh!"

"Very mature." Piers states.

"Lloyd! Come on!" Zelos darts right into the center of the ruins, where a glowing spot had formed, and vanishes. Lloyd blinks, then turns for the Papal Knights again, as they were starting to move.

"Everybody, into the gate!" Lloyd shouts. So everyone turns and runs, Daichi standing aside, making sure everyone goes in before him. Lloyd's decided to do the same, as he's menacing the Papal Knights while the others flee. Noishe, appearing from where ever he is, jumps in the gate as well.

"All in!" Lloyd turns for the portal. "Geronimo!" Daichi flips the Papal Knights off as he jumps into the portal after Lloyd. Before Daichi vanishes, he sees Kuchinawa start to rush the portal. Then he's falling onto Sylvarant.

"Aahh!" Lloyd yelps, and manages to land on his ass rather than his face. Genis is not so lucky, and Regal manages to land on his feet. As does Shikka. Rather elegantly. Daichi lands on his face on top of Lloyd. Lloyd yells and flails. Zelos has set Sheena down, and Colette cheated, as she was still hovering. Aurian seemed to have botched her landing as well, by the way she held her head.

"...Where are we?" Regal asks.

"...Probably on the outskirts of Palmacosta." Raine says.

"Ow." Piers grumbles, rubbing his head. Daichi stands from Lloyd.

"Think my arm's fractured." He reports, wincing. Regal uses this thing he mutters as _'Chi Healer'_. It heals.

"We're back in Sylvarant?" Colette looks about.

"... The Mana level seems to have risen, but it's definitely Sylvarant." Genis reports.

Zelos rubs his head and rolls his shoulders, wandering over toward Genis. "Phew, man, I never thought I'd wind up coming over to this side like that."

Daichi takes a deep breath. "The smell of home... Tethe'Alla was too much of a rich smell."

"Zelos! Why did you butt in?" Sheena's not happy with the Tethe'Allan Chosen.

"Excuse me?" Zelos asks, crossing his arms. "Don't tell me you actually wanted to die back there."

This steals some of Sheena's anger. "Well..."

"Besides," Zelos continues talking. "Those guys would have come after us regardless of whether or not you died. Pope's orders and all."

"We need you." Lloyd points out. "You've got your seals, and you can call out the summons, and we need you to make pacts so we can save the world. If you go and die, are we s'posed to make Piers make all the pacts again? Send him against Volt?"

"Are you saying Kuchinawa is working for the Pope?" Sheena's a little pink from the combined chidings.

"It's likely. He did have the Papal knights with him." Raine points out.

"Either that or it's a temporary solution. Both aiming for the same goal." Shikka points out.

"...Sheena, please don't do something like that again." Colette pleads. "Don't make the same mistakes I did. Nothing good will come of you sacrificing your life."

"Colette's absolutely right." Lloyd crosses his arms. "You should thank Zelos, Sheena."

"Th..thanks." Sheena says.

Piers pats Sheena on the shoulder. "If you die, I'll get the Necronomicon and bring your spirit back and attach it to something."

"Come on now, would it hurt to give me a kiss or two?" Zelos smirks.

"... Zelos, you're horrible." Presea comments.

"... oh.." Zelos is still smirking, even as he acts hurt. "Ouch." Daichi pats Zelos' shoulder in a semi-comforting manner.

"But what are we gonna do now?" Mithos asks. Zelos' expression once again has that flicker of blank 'say what happened' as Daichi startles him.

"Well, since we're back in Sylvarant, why don't we find out what the Desians are up to?" Lloyd grins a little evilly.

"What about Mithos?" Genis asks. "We can't drag him into this."

Daichi frowns. "Is there anywhere safe we can leave him?" Daichi says, concernedly. "You guys'd know better. Only place I know is the ranch. And that's far from safe."

"Palmacosta." Colette offers. "We could ask the government to take care of him."

"Neil, huh?" Lloyd tilts his head. "I guess that's a good idea."

"I wanna fight too!" Mithos protests.

Piers nods. "That seems logical. There's also Dirk if Neil declines."

"Dirk's also a continent away." Raine points out.

"I wouldn't mind going all the way back." Lloyd comments.

"What are you saying?" Genis frowns. "This journey is dangerous even if you had an Exsphere."

"We have the Rheairds. If it ensures Mithos' safety, I'm willing to risk it." Daichi offers.

"We check Palmacosta first. 'cause it's close." Sheena says.

"Like I say, that's logical. Going back to Iselia is a last resort." Piers states. "Besides, I like Palmacosta~"

"And because Genis, Lloyd and you are banished from Iselia." Raine reminds.

"... I wanna go look at Luin." Lloyd suddenly says.

"Uh... Why?" Zelos blinks.

"Because Luin was destroyed in a Desian raid." Daichi states. Piers nods. "And we helped the townspeople escape."

"And I wanna see how they're doing." Lloyd nods.

"Alright." Zelos shrugs. So they pick Rheairds up and head that way.


	51. Sylvarant

April 18th

* * *

Instead of finding a half built town, they find a mostly rebuilt one.

"Everyone, look!" It's Pietro who calls out to them. "We've done it! We've finally rebuilt Luin!" There are rafters and some shingles to put back, but the bridges are in one piece and crater's filled in.

"Pietro!" Colette cheers.

Daichi smiles. "Well, this is a surprise. How long have we been away?"

"Today's April 18th." Raine says. "And we were last here... January 18th."

"We owe it to you. Thank you very much." Pietro says.

"uhh... Owe what to us...?" Lloyd blinks. Piers and Daichi have blank looks, looking at each other, then back at Pietro.

"Your mercenary, Kratos, has been coming here every so often with Gald." Pietro says.

"Kratos?" Daichi stutters.

"Is.. something wrong?" Pietro takes in the varied looks of the party.

"... No." Lloyd grins. "Nothing at all."

Daichi recovers. "Nope. Nothing." Genis is checking his Gald purse, and counting.

"Actually, I've talked with the people of the city, and we've made a plan to develop the city further to serve as a sign of resistance. Of course, only if we have the budget for it." Pietro walks off to stand before the inn.

"I'm not missing Gald." Genis reports once Pietro is out of ear shot.

"Neither am I. I'd know if I was." Daichi reports. "I write my name on all my Gald."

Piers states. "So we'll soon know." Everyone else checks to. No one seems to be missing Gald, and Aurian doesn't even remember having any, so she's surprised when she has some.

"No, we have all our Gald..." Lloyd's frowning.

"... Does that mean that Kratos is spending out of his own pocket on Luin?" Colette tilts her head.

"Who's Kratos?" Mithos asks.

"A douchebag." Daichi says. Zelos smirks.

"Someone we don't get along with, and don't understand." Raine says.

"And I'm perfectly good with keeping it that way." Zelos says. "So, we done here?"

"Let's stay at the inn." Lloyd points at it.

"Sure." Piers yawns. "I guess we all should be tired."

"Given that we've been up for two days." Raine says, leading the way to the inn.

Daichi nods. "It's been that long, huh?" He yawns widely, suddenly.

"Yes." Raine nods. "Unless you all napped sometime between finding me and getting to Luin."

"... Nope." Lloyd looks too awake.

"Nope. Been living off of coffee and worry." Daichi says.

"We could give them some more Gald." Colette muses. "I mean, they want to make the city bigger, which would be good."

"If we have Gald to spare." Piers says.

"Then we can restock, set some aside for more re-stocking, and look at what's left." Genis nods.

"And we can sell off old armor." Zelos agrees.

"That makes sense." Daichi agrees.

"And maybe some of Lloyd's swords" Genis smirks.

"No!" Lloyd hugs his pack to him. "I'm keeping these." Daichi is also holding his pack close to him, edging out of the zone of conversation. Which becomes hard as they get to the inn. Raine pays for the rooms, then they sit down in some corner and begin counting up Gald. They end up with a rather large total. Daichi adds his to the pile. It's a considerable amount. Seems he's only kept Gald aside for gels and bottles. Aurian checks her pockets and adds a bunch as well, with a very confused look. It seems some of the monster Gald went to her, and she never realized it, so it was untouched.

"Let's restock, again, and then set aside double the amount spent as insurance for more trips to stores." Raine says. "Set aside a couple thousand for inn-stays, and then see if there are better weapons here. After that, we can see to selling old equipment."

Daichi smiles lightly. "I'm fine with what I've got. I have cash set aside for gels and inn stays."

* * *

April 19th

* * *

The next morning, everyone's surprisingly rested. Especially when they step outside and find that the town's changed. "... what in Niflheim?"

"... Did we oversleep?" Daichi comments.

"Did we oversleep by several months?" Zelos asks, looking about.

"... No." Aurian tilts her head back and forth.

"Yeah, the Mana levels haven't changed that much." Genis agrees. "It's been a night."

"Must've been all that labor in Lord Kvar's ranch." Daichi comments.

"... must be." Colette agrees, while Genis elbows Daichi with a meaningful look. Aurian flicks her ears rapidly, but seems to be doing her best not to look terrified of the dead man.

Daichi coughs. "Ow..." So they wander about. It seems the towns people made statues of the party members. Lloyd gets to be in the fountain, Raine's near the item store, Colette is next to the church, Sheena on the other side of the path from the weapon store, Zelos is next to the inn, near the weapon store, and Genis is next to the Katz spot.

Daichi frowns. "Statues?"

"Statues." Presea nods, staring at the statue of her on the other side of the Inn from Zelos. Piers' statue is found on the long dock. Daichi's is found near the shorter dock, and Shikka's is crouched along one of the paths. There's a kid playing on that one. Regal's is near the exit by the fountain, and when Lloyd turns to the bridge-exit near the inn, he nearly freaks out.

"KRATOS?"

"What do you expect?" Piers says.

"..." Lloyd glares a little at the statue of the mercenary, who is standing to the side of the bridge out by the inn, arms crossed and all. "Dunno."

"It's a good likeness." Daichi comments.

"All of them are." Raine says.

"... how did they get that good of details?" Genis asks, expression flat-lining.

"People have good memories." Shikka comments. "I like the detail on my shifted form. Very life-like." the children seem to like his statue as well. Aurian's statue is crouched against the bridge on the other side from Kratos'. Someone's put a blanket over her, like they thought the statue looked cold. Aurian blinks at it. Piers blinks at it, walking over and taking the blanket off it. Aurian blinks again, and sits next to the statue of her. After a moment, she mimics the statue. Piers smiles, walking over to his own.

Daichi studies his. "Do I really look this scary?"

"When you scowl." Lloyd imitates a scowl.

"_Aqua_!" Daichi strikes a casting pose, soaking Lloyd in water. Lloyd splutters, and scowls harder. Colette blinks, tilting her head as she looks from the Kratos statue, to Lloyd, and back. Lloyd's trying to get his hair up again. Daichi bursts out laughing. Lloyd manages to get his blonde hair out of his face, by forcing it back. He doesn't look pleased with this.

"We should probably head to Palmacosta." Lloyd mutters, shaking off, then shoving his hair out of his face again. Daichi tries to calm himself, but continually bursts out laughing. Lloyd times his next spaz of 'must shake water off' with when he's standing next to Daichi. Daichi grabs Lloyd in a headlock. Lloyd yelps, and wriggles. The rest slowly group up toward where this entertainment is happening.

Daichi then noogies. "Shaddup, micro-Kratos." Lloyd yelps and expresses his displeasure at this nickname with several words he had to have learned from Daichi. Or perhaps Zelos. Daichi chuckles, letting the twinblade go. Lloyd looks a bit indignant, but his hair's sticking messily up now.

"All right." Raine looks a tiny bit amused. "Time to go to Palmacosta." Lloyd blinks, looking relieved that he didn't get whacked, but as Raine passes him, she hits him. Daichi is still chuckling to himself as he passes Lloyd. And so they take off and fly off to Palmacosta to leave Mithos there. It takes them four days.

* * *

April 23rd

* * *

And Palmacosta is doing well. They head to the government building and find Neil, working.

"Chosen one!" Neil greets them. "Lloyd! How is the journey to release the seals going?"

"Ah, well.. .actually..." Colette blinks.

"uh." Lloyd blinks. "E..everything's going well!" Lloyd grins. "Anyway, we were wondering if you could take care of him for a while."

"Him being Mithos here." Daichi translates, pointing to the little one.

"Hmmm?" Neil blinks the blonde. "I certainly don't mind, but who is he?" Neil seems to be implying a little more than his name would be nice to know.

"He's traveling with us for the moment, but we're heading to an area that is too dangerous for him." Raine explains.

"Are you heading to the Palmacosta Ranch?" Neil asks. Aurian's' ears flick down.

"We blew that place up." Daichi comments.

"Oh, you're not? We've recently received reports that Desians are wandering inside the ruins of the ranch. We've increased our security." Neil explains.

Piers frowns. "Why would they do that?"

"I wonder if Magnius came back?" Colette muses.

"I'm pretty sure he's really dead." Lloyd nods.

"I don't know if it's related, but there are also reports that Desians are attacking the sea route between Izoold and Palmacosta." Neil offers. "They seem to be constructing some sort of giant infrastructure on the ocean floor."

"... Sounds like..." Daichi mumbles.

"The Remote Island Human Ranch is located in that region." Raine says.

"I wonder what's going on over there?" Lloyd scratches his nose. "Maybe it's the Mana Cannon that Rodyle is building."

"Well, if you're worried about it, why don't we go take a look?" Zelos asks.

"Even if it's not the Mana Cannon, this city will become the next Luin if the Palmacosta ranch is operational again." Sheena says.

"I agree." Shikka states. "Having a ranch resurrected will be troublesome at least."

"Yeah. Let's check out the Palmacosta ranch." Lloyd says.

"...Well, it seems our plans are set." Raine says. "We'll come back for Mithos later."

"I see." Neil looks relived. "I understand."

"Genis. Be careful." Mithos says. "And Raine and Daichi and Lloyd and everyone else too."

"Thanks, kid. We'll be back soon." Daichi says, turning to leave with the others. As they turn to leave, Mithos pushes a panpipe onto Genis.

"And, uh, we're spending the night at the inn, so, tomorrow's goodbye for a bit." Genis says. Piers hangs back, waiting for Genis. Genis puts the panpipes carefully in his pack as they leave the building and head toward the inn.

"You want me to teach you how to play?" Piers offers.

"Uh, sure. I think I kinda know, I mean, you blow across the tops, right?" Genis replies.

"Yeah. They're easy to learn once you can play one song." Piers states.

"Sure, teach me." Genis grins. And so they're at the inn. Aurian doesn't look happy to hear that Desians are still roaming about at one of the ranches they blew up, and thus looks twitchy and depressed at the same time. Piers has dashed upstairs and pulled a set of his own panpipes out. These seem a tube or two longer than Genis'. He runs back down, dusting them off. And so Genis learns to actually play that set of panpipes. Piers has moved away and starts to play something. It seems a very melancholy and slow tune.

"That sounds sad." Lloyd says. Aurian's curled up somewhere.

Piers stops playing, smiling lightly. "It is slightly sad, yes..."

"If you say it's 'slightly'..." Lloyd mutters.

"It's called 'The Ruins of Lemuria.'" Piers replies.

"Didn't you say you were from Lemuria?" Genis blinks.

Piers smiles slightly sadly. "I am. But my tribe have almost given up hope on living...That's why I made the song."

"That's depressing." Lloyd says.

"I suppose it is to outsiders." Piers says. He has this weird kind of serene smile on his face.

"The song's pretty, but sad, and your people are depressing." Lloyd clarifies.

"I'm insulted by that." Piers states.

"Didn't say you were." Lloyd points out. "Just the description you gave of the rest of them." Piers seems to be holding something back in his description, but shrugs and leaves it at hat.

Aurian throws a rolled sock at Lloyd. "Sleepy. Quiet." it bounces off his head.

"I was looking for you!" Lloyd told the sock.

Daichi is cleaning his axe. "You personify your socks?"

"No." Lloyd says. "But 'you' makes more sense to say when you're talking at objects."

"Whatever." The half-elf seems slightly testy for some reason, as though he was expecting something.

"..." Lloyd stares at him, and Aurian looks vaguely grumpy at Daichi's grumpyness.

He pauses in his cleaning, looking up. "What?" He says.

"I haven't seen you this ticked off since you stopped taking those pills." Piers comments.

"Do I need to give Aurian one of your socks too?" Lloyd asks.

"I only have one pair. Which I'm wearing." He comments.

"What happened to the ones that Raine made you buy?" Genis asks.

"They're around." He says vaguely.

"She's gunna hurt you." Genis drawls, flopping back.

"I still have them. She didn't say I had to wear them, just buy them."

"... That defeats the purpose of socks." Lloyd says. Daichi merely shrugs, keeping on his cleaning of his axe, not bothering to answer.

* * *

April 25th

* * *

They land and walk into the destroyed Ranch. "Renegades!" Lloyd recognizes the mixed colors of the Desians. That, and Botta is a dead giveaway.

"So that's it." Genis says, lowering his kendama. "Neil and the others couldn't tell the difference between the Desians and the Renegades."

"Well, what the hell are they doing here?" Daichi comments.

"We've been waiting for you." Botta says.

"Are you saying you were expecting us to come here?" Regal asks.

"Does it really matter?" Botta asks. "We have more important things to discus, such as joining forces."

"...Why?" Daichi asks.

"...Unbelievable." Raine frowns at Botta, gripping her staff. "You actually expect us to trust you after all you've done to Lloyd and Colette?"

"The circumstances have changed." Yuan walks out to stand by Botta's side.

"Yuan!" Sheena points.

"No, really?" Piers says.

"Do you know of the Giant Kharlan Tree?" Yuan ignores the pointing and commentary.

"The legendary Giant Tree said to have existed in the Holy Ground of Kharlan, right?" Zelos asks. "It's the tree of life, which produces infinite Mana."

Daichi folds his arms. "So you're expecting us to chase another fairy tale?"

"The Great Kharlan Tree existed. It's no fairy tale." Yuan states, crossing his arms and watching them. "But the Kharlan War exhausted its Mana supply and the tree wilted away. And now all that remains is its seed left in the Holy Ground of Kharlan."

"And why should we believe this?" Piers says.

Yuan simply gives Piers a look. "Because I'm talking to you, and not kidnapping the part of your misfit team I need." The look is to remind Piers that Yuan is Lightning, and Piers is Water. There's a '...' moment.

"The seed of the Giant Tree... is in the final seal?" Colette asks. Piers twitches slightly, but holds his ground, glaring at Yuan.

Yuan just gives him a smug look, and flicks his gaze to Colette. "It is known as the Great Seed." He names the seed of the Giant Tree.

"...Great Seed." Daichi pauses. "The soul of Mithos?"

"Now that is a fairy tale." Botta scoffs. "The Great Seed, the source of the world's Mana, is the seed of the Giant Tree." There's a moment where everyone sort of looks at the Renegade pair.

"The Great Seed is absolutely vital in order to reunite the two worlds." Yuan says casually.

Daichi glares at Botta, growling lowly. "You're not hitting any brownie points for joining here."

"I don't like brownies." Botta says with a small smirk.

"That was a lame retort, Botta." Piers and Daichi say in unison.

"Reunite the two worlds?" Lloyd looks surprised.

"I believe I told you before, Yggdrasill is the creator of the two worlds." Yuan stresses believe, as if he was a senile half-elf and wasn't sure, despite running the Renegades. "Originally, the world was one, but Yggdrasill ripped it asunder."

Shikka frowns. "Torn the worlds asunder..." He comments. "This makes some sense..."

"How is it even possible for someone to split the world apart...?" Lloyd asks.

"It was possible for Yggdrasill." Yuan says. "The two worlds have managed to survive by vying for the small amount of Mana seeping from the Great Seed." Shikka seems to be in a thinking silence rather than his usual serene silence.

Daichi frowns. "So...Lord Yggdrasill is that powerful...?"

"... Yes." Yuan sounds deeply irritated with this.

"So that's why the cycle of flourishing and declining continues, and the Chosen goes on a journey of regeneration..." Colette mutters.

"But if the Great Seed germinates, the Giant Tree will be restored and the cycle will come to an end." Yuan points out.

"So the tree will take root between the worlds and join them?" Daichi asks.

"Something like that." Yuan gives a dry smirk.

"... How do we resurrect the great tree?" Lloyd asks.

"The Great Seed is nearly dead. We must expose it to a large amount of Mana in order to save it." Yuan says.

Shikka looks up. "I have a theory, if I may, Sir Yuan."

"Drop the sir." Yuan nods a little. "I get enough of that from the people I lead."

"There is a possibility that my world and one of the separated ones are joined to mine." Shikka points out.

"You're not from around here?" one of Yuan's eyebrows goes up like he never would have guessed that.

"You can't sense Mana?" Shikka says, also raising an eyebrow. "Or my lack thereof?"

"There's a big mass of it right about here." Yuan flipped his hand at the big mob of them. "It's hard to tell who's got how much Mana." Shikka steps away from the group. "Huh." Yuan eyes him.

"I think I have proved my story sufficiently." Shikka says, folding his arms.

"This'd be the first I've heard of it." Yuan shrugs. "Set some people to looking into it when we get back to base."

"Yes, sir." Botta says.

"Thank you." Shikka says, resuming his previous position and stance.

Raine coughs, and brings conversation back to what Yuan had said before. "There's no supply of Mana like that to be found anywhere in the world."

"The Cruxis' base, Derris-Kharlan, is a comet made from a giant mass of Mana." Yuan says. "It lies suspended in the sky high above this land. All we have to do is use that."

"I'm assuming you have a plan for that?" Daichi says skeptically.

"Of course." Yuan smirks.

"If that's true, then why doesn't Yggdrasill revive the Giant Tree?" Lloyd frowns.

"All of Derris-Kharlan's Mana is being given to Martel for the sake of resurrecting her." Yuan doesn't sound pleased with this.

"So...While trying to make a new Martel, they're trying to revive the current?" Piers clarifies.

"No." Yuan's expression goes completely blank. "By using the power of a Cruxis Crystal, Martel's soul lives on, existing as a part of the Great Seed. They're using the chosen system to resurrect her in a new body."

"If Martel awakens, the Great Seed will be absorbed into her and disappear. The reverse also holds true. In order to prevent that from happening, Yggdrasill protects the Great Seed with the seals of the Summon Spirits." Botta explains.

"So that's why the Renegades are trying to stop Martel's revival." Raine mutters.

"Yes." Yuan says firmly. "We will make the Great Seed germinate. As a result, Martel will be absorbed by the seed, and then..."

"The Giant Kharlan Tree will be reborn." Lloyd grins.

"If that happens, the two worlds will become one?" Colette asks.

"That I don't know. The only certainty is that the world will end if the seed is lost." Yuan says.

"So, you're gonna have Miss Martel be a good little girl and disappear." Zelos drawls.

Daichi frowns. "So...You're asking us to take down a 'goddess', huh?"

"Martel is already dead." Yuan says flatly. "If it weren't for Derris-Kharlan's Mana, her soul would have disappeared a long time ago."

"Why is Yggdrasill so obsessed with Martel?" Genis asks.

"That doesn't matter." Yuan waves it off. "What's important is that we see to it that the Great Seed germinates."

"Up till now, the Great Seed has been protected by the Summon Spirits of the declining world." Botta says.

"The Mana links." Lloyd has his epiphany.

"Correct. Now that the links have begun to unravel, the Great Seed's protection has weakened." Botta explains.

"So...You just need us to finish unleashing the links?" Shikka asks.

"You want us to help you because we have Sheena." Raine mutters.

"... Yuan, are you with the Cruxis?" Lloyd tilts his head, watching the blue haired half-elf. "Or are you with the Renegades?"

"...I am with the Cruxis, and I am also the leader of the Renegades." Yuan says after a moment.

"...Then, to our first point." Piers says. "How do we know we can trust you? Everyone else from the Cruxis has turned out two-faced so far."

"I'm obviously two faced, that's why." Yuan says.

"...Yeah, you do have a hard time keeping it a secret." Daichi says.

"Except for the fact that the Cruxis hasn't killed me off yet." Yuan shrugs a little. "I'm obviously doing something right."

"Or you're too valuable to kill off just yet." Piers suggests.

"Or Lord Yggdrasill doesn't think of you as a threat." Daichi adds. Yuan gives a little dark chuckle, but doesn't say anything. Lloyd looks at the Renegade leader, then his group.

"A double-agent..." Regal mutters.

"In other words, a traitor." Zelos drawls.

Yuan doesn't even blink. "So, what's your decision?"

"I think it's good." Lloyd shrugs.

"That isn't a decision, Lloyd. That's an opinion." Piers points out.

"Fine, I think we should work together." Lloyd rolls his eyes.

"You're going to trust him?" Raine asks.

"...Yeah. He's revealed the fact that he is a traitor. He's putting himself on the line. That has to mean something." Lloyd shrugs.

"A knife in the back?" Daichi offers.

"We know he's prone to being back stabber, so we just don't turn our backs to him!" Lloyd grins.

Daichi cuffs Lloyd. "Hmph. Idiot."

"You were headed towards Rodyle's ranch, correct?" Yuan smirks at their actions.

"You sure know a lot about what we're doing. Do you have a spy watching us or something?" Zelos asks.

"No kidding." Lloyd mutters. "But either way, we have to stop that Mana Cannon thing before it's completed."

"Plus, we owe that bastard Rodyle a beating." Daichi says. Aurian squeaks. Genis looks proud, but it doesn't stop Raine from whacking Daichi for swearing.

"The ranch and Mana Cannon systems should be interlinked. Disabling the control room should be our first priority." Yuan says.

"So Lloyd, as head misfit, has decided we work together, huh?" Piers says.

"You missed that?" Zelos asks. "It was a couple of paragraphs ago."

Genis looks at Daichi. "Do you hear cracking?"

"More a splintering sound." Daichi says.

"Sorry. I got distracted." Piers says.

"You seem to know...quite a lot about them." Raine says.

"We have a reason to infiltrate Rodyle's ranch as well." Botta explains. "We can guide you to the entrance, if you'd like." Piers makes a comment to Daichi. Something involving stalkers and fanservice. Yuan's staring blankly at them. Piers and Daichi stare blankly back.

"We're teaming up, right? Of course, please take us there." Lloyd grins.

"Why are you going to the ranch?" Sheena asks.

"We need to make preparations to fire Mana at the Great Seed. Oh, by the way, the Rheaird dimensional transfer system will be offline while we make our preparations." Yuan says. "You'll have to wait until after we infiltrate the ranch if you want to get back to Tethe'Alla."

"Got it." Lloyd grins.

"Talk to Botta when you're ready." Yuan says, before half turning to his second. "I'll leave the rest to you, Botta."

"Understood." Yuan walks off.

Daichi clonks Lloyd. "I hope you know what you're getting us into, Captain Misfit." Lloyd holds his head.

"So, we have everything?" Raine asks.

"I'm ready." Piers says. Shikka nods also. Daichi grunts his approval. Aurian nods, and no one voices anything is missing.

"You are ready?" Botta asks.

"Yeah." Lloyd grins. "we're good to go."

"Then follow me." Botta has his own Rheaird, and so Team Misfit is prompted to get on their own and follow him.


	52. Isle

April 29th

* * *

They land outside an island.

"We have work to do on the Mana reactor in here." Botta explains. There's a handful of Renegades, in Rodyle colors, with him. "If you head straight, it should connect to the ranch."

"Gotcha." Lloyd grins. Aurian looks displeased at this island with its door on one side. Daichi is in his own Desian armor. He blinks, rummaging in his pocket.

Botta begins to walk off with his Renegades, but half-turns back to them. "Ah, one more thing. It seems you've destroyed every ranch you've been to, but we need the Mana reactor in order to sprout the Great Seed. Don't destroy this one." Daichi takes a card from his pocket, staring at it for a few moments. Aurian is, again, at the other side of the group from Daichi. Botta leaves with the Renegades.

"Hear that, Raine?" Sheena smirks.

"...It's not like I destroy them for fun, you know." Raine mutters.

"Whatcha got there?" Genis asks.

"I have something everyone might like." He holds up the card. "Cardkey to the Hidden Island Ranch."

"Awesome." Lloyd grins.

"In order to disable the Mana Cannon, we need to go to the control room." Regal says. "Do you recall where that is?"

Daichi smirks and nods. "Yep." He puts the key back in his pocket. "Just follow me. I know the guard shift patterns, too."

"... Daichi, when were you last here?" Zelos asks. Aurian's staring at the door like she really doesn't want to go in.

"About 60 years ago." Daichi says jovially.

"And are the Desians lame enough to not change their guard patterns in 3 score years?"

"Yep." Daichi says. "Iselia's Ranch only changed them once every hundred." there's a tiny bit of staring.

"Is there a reason why someone hasn't blown them up before us?" Lloyd scratches behind an ear.

"Because the patterns are effective. I should know." Daichi says. "Plus, if a man walks the same route hundreds of times, he knows when something's wrong."

* * *

May 1st

* * *

And three days later, they have released hosts, gone up and down floors via a platform and a high-pitched noise from the Sorcerer's Ring, and played with warps and locks. And Daichi's knowledge on Guard Shift patterns comes in very handy. Seems they haven't changed at all, allowing them to avoid guards when necessary. Which, being the bloodthirsty Team Misfit that they are, they rarely did. And then they find the control room.

"Well, I see the failed Chosen and her traveling band of fools are still alive." Rodyle sneers. "You're as stubborn as cockroaches."

"You and Vharley... deceived me." Presea is displeased.

"Presea... I'd have treated you so much better had you made me a Cruxis Crystal in that little body of yours."

"Your voice pisses me off so much, Rodyle." Daichi growls. Presea's response to Rodyle is different, and much more simple.

"...Die!" Her axe is in her hands and she starts toward Rodyle. Rodyle's on the other side of the room though. Daichi starts casting and Piers is after Presea with his sword raised.

Rodyle laughs at them. "Now, now, settle down. Have a look at the projector." the Cardinal gestures at a machine. "I've got a special underwater show for you." the wall lights up, and flicks through places they'd passed through. It settles on the path the hosts were taking out, and the bridge they were on. As water rises.

Piers stops, staring at it. "Y-you bastard!" He yells.

"H..how could you do that?" Genis demands.

"They'll all be killed!" Colette gasps.

"... Damn you!" Regal isn't even that loud.

"You bastard!" Lloyd repeats. "Stop the water, now!" Lloyd draws his blades.

Piers stares. "Not even I can control that much water... Stop doing this." Daichi's still casting, the aura blue.

"It's too late." Rodyle cackles. Lloyd flails at him, and Rodyle avoids it. "I know why you've come here. I'm sure you intend to shut down my Mana Cannon. But you won't succeed. I've filled the corridor leading to the Mana Cannon with sea water!"

"You're going to kill all those people at the ranch just to stop us?" Colette isn't happy.

"Time for a new spell!" Daichi poses. "_Aqua Laser_!" Daichi fires the beam of water directly at Rodyle.

Piers yells, his anger evident. "_Icicle Spear_!" Rodyle does something and a force-field like shield pops op about him. It cracks and vanishes after the pair of spells, however, and Rodyle talks again.

"Who cares about the lives of pathetic inferior beings? The Mana Cannon will be completed once I get the Cruxis Crystal. With Thor's Hammer in my possession, Yggdrasill and Cruxis will beg for my mercy! Even that eye-sore of a tower will fall before my cannon." Rodyle gloats in true bad guy fashion.

"What do you hope to accomplish by destroying the Tower of Salvation?" Lloyd hopes the Cardinal will spill his plans.

The purple haired half-elf cackles. "That's nothing you lower life forms need to concern yourselves with. The Cruxis Crystal is finally mine! Now, let's see. I think I'll test its power first by equipped it on myself." Piers tries another _Icicle Spear_ for luck when Rodyle is distracted. Whatever Rodyle is holding in his right hand cracks and falls to pieces, but takes the majority of Piers' spell. His left hand, however, has a crimson stone, and he fiddles with it under his coat.

"No!" Aurian wails, holding her head. Rodyle turns into something that looks a lot like an Exbelua. He just so happens to have armor in places and a blade on one stumped arm.

"Uh. Crap." Lloyd says.

"... Indeed." Piers says to Lloyd's statement. Aurian's freaking out, so Genis steps in front of her and starts casting. Colette takes off, starting to sing for her _Holy Song_, while Presea rushes past Lloyd, Regal doing the same from the other side. Daichi jumps past Lloyd, joining with Regal and Presea for a trident-shaped attack pattern. Piers starts to use a mix of spells, mostly being _Diamond Dust, Icicle Spear _and_ Hail Prism_. Genis is casting Wind and Earth spells, Raine's hitting them with _Acuity_ and _Field Barrier_ while Colette's singing slowly gives them healing. Zelos is playing mid range, attacking when Rodyle stumbles too close, but mostly casting his new favorite spell, _Thunder Blade_. Sheena joins Lloyd in flanking Rodyle. The Cardinal casts _Gravity Well_, which they find out by the effect it formed rather than his cry. Piers keeps dodging the _Thunder Blade_ and evades the _Gravity Well_... Just barely. Daichi is caught in the dome, yelling out. Lloyd cries out as the area about Rodyle goes dark and fills itself with oppressive pressure and lightning. Raine casts _Nurse_ to heal them, and Colette stops singing.

"Oh holy one, cast down thy purifying light upon these corrupt souls!" Zelos casts _Healing_ _Stream_ for good measure.

Daichi growls, starting to cast himself. "Oh, powerful deluge of water, concentrate thy might!_ Aqua Laser_!" Lloyd staggers out of Rodyle's spell to continue attacking, ignoring the blood on him.

"_Judgment_!" Colette casts the high Angel Spell, her magic artificially darkening the room and casting beams of light down in a random spray, but mostly near Rodyle. Piers is rushing in to attack directly, seeming to have run out of magic. Daichi joins him.

"_Dark Destruction_!" He flips to perform the shattering attack. Lloyd's chaining things like _Tiger Blade _with _Beast_ while Presea uses her _Devastation_ and _Infliction_ Artes. It doesn't take Rodyle long to crumple.

"He's not going to suddenly stand up, is he?" Piers pants heavily.

And, of course, right after that is said, Rodyle does so. "Ugh...what's happening?... My...my body...my body is disintegrating! Pronyma, you tricked me!" His voice is painful, as it's both his own, and a roar for an undertone. He staggers not for them, but for a computer, and flops upon it. "But I won't die alone! I'm taking you all with me!" He hit something and slid off, dead. Piers runs over, shoving Rodyle's corpse off the computer.

"No! He's activated the self-destruct system!" Raine's next to him, and recognizes what's scrolling across the screens.

"Botta warned us not to destroy this place!" Colette looks a bit distressed.

"Dammit!" Lloyd kicks Rodyle's body to vent some anger. "We have to stop it!"

Piers growls. "I can't see anything...How about you, professor?" Raine's busy checking all the surfaces to say anything. Presea wanders over to look. She turns back to Lloyd.

"Impossible." She states her ability to fix this. "It is up to Raine." Presea believes.

"Most Tethe'Allans don't really study the details of magitechnology very much." Zelos agrees.

"Professor!" Lloyd calls to Raine.

"I know!" Raine is moving between three different panels. "But I can't do this by myself!"

Daichi walks up. "Can I have a quick look?" He asks. Before Raine gives him an answer, Botta and his Renegades appear. They look a little worse for wear.

"We'll take over from here." a pair of Renegades head over to the console. "The rest of you go and escape though the hatch over there." Botta points at it.

Daichi pauses, looking at Botta. "..." He nods, running for the hatch.

"But..." Piers starts to protest.

"Botta! You're okay!" Lloyd cheers.

"There'll be plenty of time for chit-chat later." Botta tells them. "Leave, now." He turns for the console as well. "You'll only get in our way!"

Lloyd blinks. "...Okay." Aurian's recovered enough to come with them through the hatch without anyone aiding her. Daichi grabs Piers as he looks to protest. After their through the hatch, it shuts. A few seconds after the wailing stops, water seeps into the control room.

"No!" Lloyd about-faces. "We've got to open the door!" Lloyd starts to shove at the hatch as the water climbs up past feet inside.

Shikka grabs Lloyd. "If you open that hatch we'll drown too."

"We're in a dome." Zelos points out.

"No!" Lloyd's flailing to try to get out of Shikka's grip. Regal looks at Lloyd, then walks to the clear plating that allowed them to see into the control room, and gives it a few kicks. His blows do nothing.

"...Botta did this on purpose." Raine says. "They knew the water was coming and locked it from the inside." Shikka hands Lloyd to Daichi who sits on the twinblade. Lloyd flails more.

"Why would they do that?" Colette seems close to tears.

"If the door opens, this area will be flooded as well. And as you can see, the ceiling is covered by a dome. There's nowhere for the water to escape." Raine says.

"...they did it... to save us?" Presea asks.

"No!" Colette is not happy. "We have to do something!" Shikka shifts into lion form and lies on Colette. Colette squeaks.

"Dammit!" Lloyd's working on wriggling free of Daichi. "Isn't there something we can do...?"

"We've stopped the self-destruct system." Botta's voice is all echoey.

"Botta! Open the door!" Lloyd shouts to the Renegade. "If we destroy the dome overhead..." The water is up to their knees as they stand before the window. The hatch is already under water. Daichi keeps firm.

"There's nothing we can do." He growls. "It'll take too long to destroy that dome."

"Our goal was to modify each ranch's Mana reactor in order to fire Mana at the Great Seed. Now that we've finished reprogramming this control room, our mission is complete." Botta says. He doesn't budge despite Lloyd's shouts and flailings, or the weird way this probably all looks. "We need you to get the message to Yuan that we have succeeded."

"Tell him yourself! Open the door, now!" Lloyd shoves at Daichi.

"Lloyd. I swear to the goddess. Do not make me fucking sheep you." Daichi says. Lloyd's response is a snarl, as his shoves get harder.

"We pray for your success in regenerating the world. Please see to it that Martel is finally allowed her eternal sleep, for Yuan's sake as well." Botta bows his head a little, then lifts it. The water is up to his chest, and higher on the shorter half-elves, and they're debating taking off their armor, by the looks of them. Daichi rummages in his pack, bringing out a sheep and rubbing it in Lloyd's face. Lloyd swears, and snarls, then passes out. The window shutters closed.

"No!" Colette isn't happy, and hides her face.

"... Man..." Zelos sounds a bit depressed. Daichi shoves the sheep back into his bag, the plush giving a surprised baa at the violence.

"Look!" Aurian sounds panicked, and she's glowing. The other side of the cavern is covered with kennel-like doors. They start opening, and small dragons come out.

"Wh-what are those things?" Genis yelps.

"They look like transport dragons." Raine says. "Their cages probably opened when the self-destruct system was activated."

"... And you had to put him to sleep, didn't you." Zelos asks Daichi, drawing his sword.

"_Deluge_!" Piers yells, casting a ice-cold waterfall down on Lloyd in an attempt to wake him up.

Daichi growls slightly. "Well, I didn't know, did I?" Unfortunately, it's a magic sleep, and Lloyd doesn't wake just yet.

"Look out! Here they come!" Regal quickly takes a front-line position, while Raine grabs onto Lloyd and drags him back. Aurian's casting something cold, given how well it worked against the Flying Dragon. Daichi sets himself ready. He runs in.

"_Psi Tempest_!" He yells out, in a direct contradiction to his normal fighting skill.

"You've been watching Lloyd too much, haven't you." Zelos asks, using _Light Spear_ and it's variants on the dragons.

"_Blizzard_!" Aurian calls.

"_Freeze Lancer_!" Genis casts.

"_Tundra_!" Piers yells out.

"_Shinkuu Senretsuha_!" Daichi cries. It's not the exact meaning of the arte, slightly altered for the axeman. Mainly many slices followed by a tempest.

"Disciple of everlasting ice that turns translucent, by right as the pact maker I command thee." Sheena's chanting.

"Oh yeah, this is gunna be good." Zelos laughs a little as he dances about a dragon and slices at its wings. Daichi seems to be using many Lloyd-type artes but with a lot less finesse. Daichi seems to have a wider variety of artes to show for his age.

"Come forth, _Celsius_!" Sheena shouts, and her seals make a vast pattern on the ground. The pale-blue-skinned summon appears, and uses several _Absolute_s. The dragons that had come down to them fall to the ground, unnaturally blue from all the ice-damage. Daichi walks around and starts wailing on them. And then more dragons show up. Lloyd finally wakes, due to a _Recover_ from Raine, but he's groggy.

"There are too many of them!" The entire wall-of-kennels appears to have emptied out on them.

"If we lose, we'll never be able to pass on Botta's message!" Colette isn't happy.

"... Mithos!" Genis has a brainwave.

"Mithos?" Piers says, looking at Genis.

Genis pockets his kendama. "He said if we got in trouble, play his panpipes." And so Genis just played a little scale. And then they heard a bird, and light rained through the dome, destroying it, and killing all the dragons.

"... What in Niflheim?" Lloyd asks, and Raine hits him. Daichi flinches at the light.

"What the fuck?" Daichi asks, and Raine hits him. A bird flies by, all sparkly, and blasts a few more dragons to nothing.

"...Was that a summon spirit?" Genis asks.

"Genis! Raine! Daichi!" Mithos shouts. "Everybody!" After looking about, they look up.

"That's Mithos' voice!" Genis blinks.

"Mithos?" Daichi says, surprised.

"What's Mithos doing here?" Lloyd blinks.

"Please, get on your Rheairds!" Mithos calls.

"Let's worry about the how and why later." Raine already has her capsule in her hand.

"... all right." Lloyd agrees with her and hops on his. And everyone follows.

"Mithos! It's really you! But what was that attack just now? And how did you get a Rheaird?..." They find the blonde circling on a red Rheaird about the island.

"I'm sorry." Mithos says. "I was worried about all of you, and I just couldn't stay behind. So I asked the Renegades to let me borrow a Rheaird."

"You can cast magic?" Piers says, impressed.

"Ah, no, that wasn't me... I can only use _Fire-ball_, which is what I was doing after I heard the flute. Then the golden sparkling bird showed up and helped me." Mithos says.

"Golden sparkling bird?" Sheena repeats. "Could it be... Aska?"

"It can't be! Why would a Summon Spirit...?" Raine frowns a little.

"Summon Spirit?" Daichi asks, quizzically.

"Aska is one of the two summon spirits of light." Sheena tells him. "He takes the form of a large two headed, golden bird. Or so the Research Academy thinks."

"What do you mean?" Presea asks Raine.

"Do you think Genis called Aska when he played the flute?" Lloyd asks.

"...Wow." Daichi mumbles.

"Mithos' flute?" Genis looks at it, then quickly pockets it.

"But shouldn't you all rest first? Let's head back to Palmacosta. I must apologize to Neil..." Mithos looks a little embarrassed. "I left without telling him."

"All right." Lloyd shrugs. "It's not like we'll figure anything out by dwelling about it here. Let's head back."

"... Yeah..." Zelos says. Daichi looks very moody. He's watching Lloyd as though daring him.

"Thank you, Mithos! We owe you our lives. I didn't realize how amazing you are!" Genis fanboys.

"N...not...not at all." Mithos turns pink.

"I'm so happy we're friends!" Genis says as they turn the Rheairds about to go to Palmacosta.

"...Yes, me too." Mithos smiles. Lloyd is ignoring Daichi. Daichi grunts, expecting this behavior.

And so they reach Palmacosta, land, and head to Neil's house/office. It's actually fairly early morning. "Everyone! You're back!" Neil says.

"Yeah, but barely." Lloyd's a bit unhappy over Botta.

"Neil, I'm sorry for leaving without telling you..." Mithos is embarrassed.

"I'm so relieved you're safe! I was so worried about you. As long as you're safe, that's all that matters." Neil says.

"You can relax." Raine tells him. "The Palmacosta ranch is not operational."

"I see!" Neil is happy to hear that. "That's good to hear. So what are you going to do now?"

"Well, we need to continue the world regeneration journey..." Lloyd grins widely. "right, Colette?"

"Ah, y-yes." Colette blinks. "We're... working hard on it." With her smiling, her stutters were almost invisible. Piers picks up on it, frowning slightly.

"I'm sure you are! We're all counting on you, Chosen One!" Neil waves at them and goes back to paperwork.

Genis blinks. "Oh yeah. I need to give Mithos back his flute...Oh no!" The pipes are cracked.

"...It's broken." Mithos says.

"I...I'm so sorry! I know how important it was!"

" ... No, it's all right. The flute may be broken, but my memories of my sister are still intact."

Lloyd notices. "Mithos, I'm sorry." He eyes the wooden instrument. "If I can fix it..."

"It's all right. It was very old. But thank you." Mithos smiles.

"Mithos. Does this flute have some kind of special power?" Raine asks.

"..I...I don't know. But my sister said that it was made from the nut of a tree that become extinct long ago." Mithos offers.

"Hmm. The nut of an extinct tree..." Lloyd thinks.

"It might be the Giant Tree." Piers says.

"The Giant tree had nuts?" Lloyd makes a face.

"Seeds can be nuts." Genis points out.

"..."

"Let's just hope that there were trees that bear nuts that went extinct." Raine says. "We'll keep in mind that Mithos' flute, of unknown nut origin, summoned Aska." Daichi smirks.

"So then, what now?" Zelos asks. Sometime, during all the talking, they've migrated outside of the Government building. It's still before noon. Aurian's produced an apple from somewhere, and is munching.

"I have no idea~" Piers says. He seems to be glad to be in Palmacosta.

"We have to tell Yuan about Botta." Colette insists. Mithos blinks.

"Yeah." Lloyd nods. "We also need to find out if we can use the Rheairds so Mithos can return to Tethe'Alla."

"Shall we pay a visit to the Renegades, then?" Regal asks.

"Ah... yes, of course." Mithos smiles at the prospect of going back to Tethe'Alla.

Daichi puts a hand on Lloyd's shoulder. "We're not doing the journey of Regeneration." He points out.

Lloyd gives him a look. "And I could so totally tell Neil that 'we're not saving the world, because that would be killing Colette, because the whole world is practically run by an insane angel, so we're gunna save two worlds, yes, there are two and the other isn't on the moon, by running around and doing something else.' Yeah. That'd go over well."

"So you're talking to me now?" He says, smirking.

"This was my talking-to-Daichi allotment for the day." Lloyd manages to act like he wasn't thwarted in his 'revenge'. He turns away from Daichi. "We've still got enough daylight to get to Izoold, at least. So let's go." He starts off.

Daichi chuckles to himself. "Ya know, you remind me of myself at your age. Stubborn."

"I think he's trying to stay mad at you rather than get depressed." Genis nods, as they pull out Rheairds.

"That's stubbornness." Piers points out.

"... Probably." Genis agrees. "Lloyd's usually stubborn. Unless it involves his favorite foods as bribery."

"Ya know. Srubbornness can be good." Daichi says.

"Can be." Genis agrees, pulling his Rheaird capsule out as well, once they passed the gates of Palmacosta.

Daichi does the same. "If it gets too far.." He comments. "Then I'll bribe him."

"Have fun with that." Genis smirks.

Daichi smirks back. "I plan to."


End file.
